A second New Jersey Council member was fatally shot Wednesday morning, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John McDonald.
Franklin Township police responded to a parking lot of Public Service Electric and Gas Co. in Somerset at 7:02 a.m., after receiving reports of a shooting victim.
Officers found a deceased adult male suffering from a gunshot wound, according to a RLS Media report, which added the EMTs from a nearby trauma center pronounced him dead.
Authorities identified the decedent as Russell D. Heller, 51, of Milford, New Jersey, employed by PSEG at the Somerset facility, according to the report.
The New York Post further reported:
A New Jersey council member was shot dead in his car Wednesday, exactly a week after the unsolved slaying of Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.
Russell Heller, 51, was found dead just after 7 a.m. in the Somerset parking lot of PSE&G, the local energy company where the Milford Republican worked.
Cops quickly IDed a former employee, Gary Curtis, 58, as a suspect — and found him dead in his car from a suspected self-inflicted gunshot around three-and-a-half hours after the slaying.
The councilman’s murder came exactly a week after Sayreville Councilwoman Dwumfour — also a Republican — was gunned down in her SUV outside her home about 15 miles away. Her murder remains unsolved.
Authorities have not linked the crimes, and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office insisted that Heller’s murder appeared to be “an isolated incident.”
“The investigation remains ongoing to determine motive,” the prosecutor’s office said, while stressing that “Heller was the intended target.”
Gov. Phil Murphy sent “thoughts and prayers” to Heller’s “family and friends in the wake of this tragic act of gun violence.”
Rep. Tom Kean said he was “shocked and saddened by the tragic murder” of his fellow Republican.
“Russell was an outstanding public servant who proudly represented the river town he loved, Kean tweeted.
Milford Mayor Henri Schepens told NJ.com that “the Milford Borough Council is deeply saddened by the loss and our hearts go out to his family.”
Heller “was so full of life, it’s just unbelievable that he’s gone,” the mayor said.
“Something like this has never happened in borough history. We are very shaken by this.”
Heller had been a councilman since 2020 in Milford, a borough in Hunterdon County, according to the Franklin Reporter & Advocate.
The director of the county’s board of commissioners, Zachary Rich, expressed the “collective shock and grief felt” over the “senseless shooting death.”
“Russell was a dedicated and valuable member of the Milford and Hunterdon County community whose leadership and commitment will be sorely missed,” Rich wrote.
“More importantly, however, Russell was a loving and caring father to his daughter and a dedicated and loyal friend to all of those who had the pleasure of knowing him,” he said of the “tragic loss.”
PSE&G, meanwhile, said it was “offering support” to employees after the “tragic and disturbing event.”
The energy company said it was “heartbroken at the tragic death” of Heller, a senior distribution supervisor at the company.
“Russell was an admired employee and a supervisor with over 11 years of service with PSE&G. He will be sorely missed by all and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time,” PSE&G said.
No mention was made of the suspect, Curtis, or when he left the company.
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