A New Jersey council member was found fatally shot in his car on Wednesday, marking the second time this month that a local official was gunned down in the state.
According to CNN, the attack took place around 7 a.m. outside the PSE&G facility in Somerset County. Police arrived at the scene after receiving reports of gunfire, and discovered a man inside the parking lot with a gunshot wound. Authorities later identified the victim as 51-year-old Russell Heller, a Milford council member who also worked as a PSE&G supervisor for 11 years. Heller had succumbed to his injuries by the time officers arrived.
Investigators say Heller was inside his vehicle when a former employee, 58-year-old Gary T. Curtis, carried out the attack. Authorities managed to trace the suspect’s vehicle to a neighboring township, where they found inside with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot. Curtis was pronounced dead shortly after medical personnel were called to the scene.
Police say the attack on Heller was an isolated incident, and they’re continuing to investigate the case. Though they have yet to determine an exact motive, investigators say they don’t believe the shooting was politically motivated.
“He was so full of life, it’s just unbelievable that he’s gone,” Mayor Henri Schepens said in a statement posted on the Milford Merchants Association Facebook page. “The Milford Borough Council is deeply saddened by the loss and our hearts go out to his family,” Schepens said. “Something like this has never happened in borough history. We are very shaken by this.”
The shooting took place about a week after Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot dead inside her car. The incident occurred on Feb. 1 outside Dwumfour’s Middlesex County home. A suspect has not been identified.
Authorities have not found any connection between the attacks.
