FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (NewsNation) — Another New Jersey council member was found shot dead Wednesday, exactly one week after the shooting of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.
Russell Heller, 51, was fatally shot outside PSE&G in Somerset, New Jersey, where he worked as a supervisor, in what police said was a targeted workplace shooting not linked to Dwumfour’s case.
Heller was also a council member, in the Township of Milford.
“Preliminary investigation has revealed that the shooting was an isolated incident and Mr. Heller was the intended target,” the Franklin Township Police Department said in a statement.
Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald identified the suspect as a 58-year-old former employee named Gary Curtis, saying Curtis died of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound” in a neighboring county and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Heller’s death comes exactly one week after police found Dwumfour shot dead in her car with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead on the scene, according to a press release from the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.
An investigation into the incident involving Heller remains ongoing.
“We are heartbroken at the tragic death of Russell Heller,” PSE&G said in a statement. “He will be sorely missed by all, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.”
On Twitter, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also offered his thoughts and prayers for Heller’s family following this “tragic act of gun violence.”