Crime Jersey City Shooting: Victims Identified As Pioneering Mother, Food Drive Organizer

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Details are emerging about the victims of Tuesday’s deadly shootout in Jersey City.

© AP Jersey City's mayor Steven Fulop, center right, talks with first responders at the scene of a shooting in Jersey City, N.J., Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019. Fulop says gunmen targeted a kosher market during a shooting that killed multiple people Tuesday. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Jersey City Police Det. Joseph Seals was fatally shot in the head around 12:30 p.m. at Bay View Cemetery off Garfield Avenue. Police said his killers then drove a stolen U-Haul van to a kosher grocery store on Martin Luther King Boulevard and opened fire, killing three innocent bystanders.

Official: Base shooter watched shooting videos before attack

The Saudi student who fatally shot three sailors at a U.S. naval base in Florida hosted a dinner party earlier in the week where he and three others watched videos of mass shootings, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. Officials investigating the deadly attack were working to determine whether it was motivated by terrorism, while President Donald Trump indicated he would review policies governing foreign military training in the United States. Investigators believe the gunman visited New York City, including Rockefeller Center, days before the shooting, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on Sunday.

JERSEY CITY — The deadly attack at a kosher supermarket here that left six people, including the two gunmen, dead this week is being investigated as domestic terrorism, officials announced Thursday. “We believe the suspects held views that reflected hatred of the Jewish people, as well as the hatred of law

— City of Jersey City (@ JerseyCity ) December 13, 2019. Seals was a husband and father of five Seals, a husband and father of five, was the first victim to be identified . Grewal said he was killed at Deutsch actively gave back to his community, in part by helping his father organize a food drive

Rabbi David Niederman said those victims had lived or currently live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Among those killed were Mindel Ferencz, a wife and mother of five.

© Provided by CBS New YorkTHE INVESTIGATION:Mayor Says Jewish Market Was Targeted In Deadly Standoff

“Mindel Ferencz, may she rest in peace, was a pioneer. She and her husband were from the first people who moved to Jersey City, who could not afford a home for their growing family and figured, ‘let’s go to places where it’s cheaper, and I’ll make an example and go there. I’ll open a grocery store so that families can go and shop locally,’” said Rabbi Niederman. “Therefore growing the community, alleviating the pain of so many – thousands of families – who live under unbearable conditions.”

'We were beyond lucky to have him': Joseph Seals, cop killed in Jersey City shooting, was a 15-year veteran

Joseph Seals, a 15-year veteran of the Jersey City police force and a father of five, was killed in Tuesday's gunfight that also left 5 others dead.(Pictured) Police officers arrive to the scene where active shooting is happening.

Jersey City Mayor Calls Deadly Shooting a ‘Targeted Attack’. Police officers took cover from gunfire on Tuesday afternoon as they responded to reports of an active shooter in Jersey City , N.J.Credit Bryan Anselm for The New York Times.

One of the victims in the shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City , New Jersey , on He studied and found time to help not only his peers from his yeshiva but other children, and he was one of the major organizers of a food drive that feeds 2,000 families every year, Niederman said.

“She was a lady full of love for others,” he added. “Unfortunately, her life was cut so short.”

Moshe Deutsch, son of prominent Jewish leader Abe Deutsch, was also killed.

COMPLETE COVERAGE: More From Reporters & Witnesses On Scene

“Moshe himself studied, found his time to help not only his peers from his yeshiva but other kids, and he was one of the major organizers in the major food drive that 2,000 families get every year,” said Niederman.

Seals was a veteran officer of over 15 years who joined the department in 2006.

Mayor Steven Fulop said he was well known throughout the city.

PHOTO GALLERY: Scenes From Jersey City’s Deadly Shootout

“We cried with the family. It’s one of the hardest things you have to see in your entire life,” he said. “Nobody expected, I’m sure, Det. Seals not to return home. I’m sure his children expected him to return home.”

Seals left behind a wife and five children.

The name of the final victim has not yet been released, but Niederman said he was a worker at the store.