ANTI-SEMITISM: Jersey City shootout suspects identified, said to have targeted Jewish supermarket intentionally

The two suspects who were responsible for killing a police officer and three civilians yesterday at a Jewish supermarket have now been identified and, at least one of them, is said to have been a supporter of the Black Hebrew Roots movement.

NBC NEW YORK – The two people who stormed a kosher grocery store in Jersey City with rifles, killing three people inside and also murdering a veteran detective, have been identified as David Anderson and Francine Graham, four law enforcement sources familiar with the case tell News 4.

Three sources say Anderson was a one-time follower of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, a group whose members believe they are descendants of the ancient Israelites and may adhere to both Christian and Judaic beliefs. There was a note with religious writings in the U-Haul he and Graham allegedly drove to the scene, but a motive — including any alleged nexus to hate or terror remains under active investigation, officials say.

Officials also said there were online postings connected to Anderson’s social page with anti-police and anti-Jewish writings. Investigators are looking to see if Anderson himself posted that material.

According to the Times of Israel, “A law enforcement official said police believe the shooter was motivated by the anti-Semitic and anti-police beliefs, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.”

NBC New York reports that Police believe the Jewish supermarket was specifically targeted by these suspects:

The new details came shortly after local authorities announced a review of surveillance video clearly showed the market was targeted, though they, along with state and federal investigators, say a precise motive remains under investigation.

The footage shows the shooters deliberately bypass other people on the busy street, aiming directly for people inside the kosher deli. Information continues to develop, and while authorities said Tuesday that it appeared the standoff began with the deadly shooting of a police officer at a separate site, Fulop and Shea said Wednesday that the bloodshed began at the market.

“We now know this did not begin with gunfire between police officers and perpetrators and then move to the store,” Shea, the brother of NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, said. “It began with an attack on the civilians inside the store.”

A timeline of the bloodshed remains under investigation. At this point, the only victim who has been identified is Det. Joseph Seals, a father of five and veteran Jersey City police officer. Two customers and a cashier were killed inside JC Kosher Supermarket on Martin Luther King Drive.

The two suspects died by police gunfire. Shea and Fulop said Wednesday that two officers on a walking post one block south of the scene responded immediately, adding more lives may have otherwise been lost. An army of law enforcement responded seconds thereafter; a number of schools, which were left with bullet-cracked windows and damage Wednesday, are nearby.

Yesterday we were led to believe this wasn’t a terrorist attack. I’d say that’s not really true anymore given that this Jewish grocery store was intentionally targeted by Jew-hating Black Hebrew Roots supporters. According to Jewish Breaking News, these are the suspects who were killed by police:

 
Ben Shapiro writes this morning on this attack:


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