Chilling moment 'Black Hebrew Israelite' who called Jews 'imposters' and his ex-lover arrive at Jersey City kosher store and open fire after he killed a cop and left a note in rented U-Haul saying 'my creator made me do this'

  • David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, targeted the JC Kosher Supermarket in Jersey City on Tuesday
  • Anderson was a Black Hebrew Israelite, group believing black people are true descendants of ancient Israel
  • Duo drove their U-Haul calmly down the street, parked across from the store then approached on foot
  • They had their rifles drawn and started firing as they made their way towards the supermarket
  • Pedestrians ran for their lives and one man was even able to escape the store before they got inside
  • Then, a two-hour standoff with police ensued which ended with both suspects being shot dead
  • Suspects killed three civilians: Leah Mindel Ferencz, 33, Moshe Hirsch Deutsch, 24, and Miguel Douglas, 49 
  • The pair had also shot dead police Detective Joseph Seals just prior to the attack on the kosher store
  • Seals was investigating the December 7 murder of Uber driver Michael Rumberger, found dead in a car trunk
  • Anderson, who had made anti-Semitic posts online, and Graham were the prime suspects in that murder  

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David Anderson, 47, one of the shooters, is seen in a 2011 mugshot. He has priors for firearms offenses

David Anderson, 47, one of the shooters, is seen in a 2011 mugshot. He has priors for firearms offenses

The moment the two Jersey City shooters got out of their U-Haul and approached a kosher supermarket with their rifles drawn before killing three people inside has been revealed in chilling surveillance footage. 

Francine Graham, 50, and David Anderson, 47, drove up to JC Kosher Supermarket on Tuesday afternoon in a U-Haul which they calmly parked. 

They were then filmed moving towards the store with guns drawn as terrified pedestrians run for their lives. 

One man was able to escape the store and came hurtling out of it as they made their way inside but Leah Mindel Ferencz, 33, Moshe Hirsch Deutsch, 24, and Miguel Douglas, 49, were all shot dead before police arrived.  

Once officers did arrive, the two shooters came under gunfire. A two-hour stand-off ensued before they were eventually killed.  

Graham and Anderson had already killed Detective Joseph Seals in a cemetery a mile away after he reportedly approached them to ask questions about the murder of 34-year-old Uber driver Michael Rumberger whose body was found in his the trunk of a car on Saturday.

Police sources say Anderson was once a Black Hebrew Israelite, a group that believes black people are the true descendants of ancient Israelites, and which often expresses extreme racial animosity toward Jewish and white people. 

Online posts tied to the Anderson include the statement 'Blacks are jews, the "jewish" are impostors', and a note left in the van used in the attack had words to the effect of 'I do this because my creator makes me do this, and I hate who he hates,' according to WNBC-TV

The New Jersey Attorney General and other officials were hesitant to label the attack a hate crime, but Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop said on Wednesday it was 'impossible' to draw any other conclusion and that the community had to 'aggressively' call out anti-Semitism.

He also said that Graham and Anderson were 'familiar' with the community having both lived in it, and that they knew exactly where to target Jews. 

'I am Jewish. I am the grandson of a holocaust survivor. We need to be aggressive in calling it out for what it is. 

'I know people should say we should reviews things and take our time, but when you look at the facts it's difficult to say anything other than this was an attack on the Jewish community,' the mayor said.

David Anderson, 47
Francine Graham, 50

David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, targeted the JC Kosher Supermarket in Jersey City on Tuesday

Surveillance footage shows David Anderson (circled) and Francine Graham and approaching JC Kosher Supermarket

Surveillance footage shows David Anderson (circled) and Francine Graham and approaching JC Kosher Supermarket

The pair calmly drove their U-haul (circled) to the supermarket, parked across the road and approached on foot

The pair calmly drove their U-haul (circled) to the supermarket, parked across the road and approached on foot

Moshe Hirsch Deutsch, 24, was among those killed
Leah Mindel Ferencz, 33, was also killed
Miguel Douglas, 49, was also killed

Killed (left to right): Moshe Hirsch Deutsch, 24, Leah Mindel Ferencz, 33,and Miguel Douglas, 49, were all shot dead

Graham and Anderson had already killed Detective Joseph Seals
Michael Rumberger, 34.

The shooters had already killed Detective Joseph Seals (left) in a cemetery a mile away after he reportedly approached them to ask questions about the Saturday murder of 34-year-old Uber driver Michael Rumberger (right) 

WHO ARE THE BLACK HEBREW ISRAELITES

Black Hebrew Israelites - also called Black Hebrews, African Hebrew Israelites and Hebrew Israelites - are members of an offshoot of a broader religious movement often referred to as Black Israelism, which dates back to the 18th century. 

Members of the modern movement often express extreme racial animosity, saying that Jewish people are 'devilish imposters' and that white people are deserving only of death or slavery. 

The movement's various sects are loosely bound by a belief that African Americans are literal descendants of the Israelites in the Bible.  

The majority of Black Hebrew Israelites are not recognized as Jews by the greater Jewish community, with the exception of a small number who have formally converted to Judaism. 

Groups differ in specific practices and beliefs, some focusing on adapting principles of Judaism and Christianity and others using terms and traditions of Judaism as part of a distinct, separate belief system.  

The predominant group in New York City is the House of Israel, whose members are known for street-preaching about the end of times. 

According to HOI's website, the group is dedicated to 'uniting and building up the nation destroyed by Colonialism, Imperialism, and Slavery'.

'Our chief mission is the uplifting of the so called Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans; who are the 12 Tribes of Israel,' the website reads. 

Legal advocacy group Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the movement a hate group. They have no connection with mainstream Judaism. 

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FBI and ATF agents have now extended their investigation to northern Ohio, where Anderson purchased four rifles several years ago. One of the four rifles was recovered at the scene of the attack, and investigators are seeking the other three. 

Anderson had reportedly been living in a van and selling snack food and clothing for a living. 

Graham was a former home health aide who rented the U-Haul used in the attack, which was never returned and reported as stolen, sources say. 

Neighbors of Graham say she met him after stopping her job as a home health aide when she became injured. 

They said she became a 'dark person' after meeting Anderson and that he coerced her into joining a militant religion.

The neighbor, who did not want to be named, told NBC he heard her chanting a word that translated to 'evil' from her home before she moved out last year.  

The woman's brothers and sisters have also revealed that she and Anderson dated at one time. Anderson has prior arrests for gun offenses. 

On Wednesday, police officials abhorred the shooters and said they demonstrated 'pure evil'. 

They also revealed that in the wake of the attack, cruel opportunists with no connection to any of the victims had set up bogus GoFundMe accounts to profit from the tragedy.

The cops urged anyone who had given any money to any of the accounts to contact the FBI. 

Attack began with shooting of cop who was investigating livery cab murder  

The chaos began shortly before 12.30pm, when Detective Seals, 39, was shot dead by the two suspects at the Bay View Cemetery, which is a Protestant Christian burial ground.

Seals, a married father of five and member of the CeaseFire Unit dedicated to de-escalating gun violence, was investigating the death of Michael Rumberger, 34.

He was found dead on Saturday in the trunk of a car, having been beaten to death.

Sources say that Seals spotted a stolen U-Haul van that police suspected was linked to Rumberger's murder, and approached the vehicle near the cemetery. 

As Seals approached, a suspect got out of the van to shoot the officer before speeding off.

The suspects apparently drove in the stolen U-Haul directly to the JC Kosher Supermarket, about a mile away. 

Members of Chesed Shel Emes, a Jewish organization which helps families through grief, were on the scene on Wednesday

Members of Chesed Shel Emes, a Jewish organization which helps families through grief, were on the scene on Wednesday

Members of the Chesed Shel Emes, a Jewish organization which helps families through grief, were on the scene on Tuesday night to gather the blood of the victims

Members of the Chesed Shel Emes, a Jewish organization which helps families through grief, were on the scene on Tuesday night to gather the blood of the victims 

The cop car that rammed the storefront is taken away from the scene on Tuesday night amid heavy snowfall

The cop car that rammed the storefront is taken away from the scene on Tuesday night amid heavy snowfall

Bloodbath: The inside of the JC Kosher Supermarket on Tuesday night as investigators clean up following the shooting. Three innocent people were killed inside the store

Bloodbath: The inside of the JC Kosher Supermarket on Tuesday night as investigators clean up following the shooting. Three innocent people were killed inside the store 

Emergency workers at the scene of the shooting on Wednesday morning. Officials now say the attack was a targeted, anti-Semitic hate crime

Emergency workers at the scene of the shooting on Wednesday morning. Officials now say the attack was a targeted, anti-Semitic hate crime 

Bullets pierced windows in the Sacred Heart School across the road from the kosher supermarket. Parts of it were taped off on Wednesday

Bullets pierced windows in the Sacred Heart School across the road from the kosher supermarket. Parts of it were taped off on Wednesday 

The store was boarded up on Wednesday to preserve the crime scene. There was a steady stream of police and volunteers in the area all day

The store was boarded up on Wednesday to preserve the crime scene. There was a steady stream of police and volunteers in the area all day

This was the quiet scene in the Bayview Cemetery, nearby, where Detective Joseph Seals was killed earlier in the day

This was the quiet scene in the Bayview Cemetery, nearby, where Detective Joseph Seals was killed earlier in the day

MYSTERY OF UBER DRIVER'S DEATH

Graham and Anderson were the prime suspects in the December 7 murder of Michael Rumberger who was found stuffed in the trunk of a town car in Bayonne, NJ. 

It is unclear how he knew Graham and Anderson if at all. 

Police say he had suffered trauma to the head and was beaten to death. 

Detective Seals was investigating his death when he came across Graham and Anderson in the cemetery. 

He was drawn to them because of the U-Haul they were driving which is, in some way, connected to Rumberger's killing.

Rumberger, 34, was a father of two daughters. His family is now grieving. 

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Shots were reported in the area at around 12.30pm, as the two suspects, clad in all-black and armed with assault rifles, stormed the store. 

Seals was a member of the CeaseFire unit, which often tries to intervene in gang conflicts to prevent retaliatory killings after drug murders. 

Officials say that Seals was responsible for getting dozens of illegal firearms off the streets.

However, Chief Kelly declined to specify exactly what kind of investigation Seals was pursuing at the time he confronted the two suspects.

Kelly said that Seals had joined the Jersey City police department in 2006, and praised him as dedicated detective who was well-liked on the force.

'Joe was somebody who was involved in city,' said Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop at a press conference.

 'Officers in other precincts knew who he was because he was a good cop.'  

The bullets started flying early in the afternoon in the city of about 270,000 people, situated across the Hudson River from the Statue of Liberty.

The shooting spread fear through the neighborhood, and the nearby Sacred Heart School was put on lockdown as a precaution.

Police officers arrive at the scene of an active shooting in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 10, 2019

Police officers arrive at the scene of an active shooting in Jersey City, New Jersey, on December 10, 2019

Video showed dozens of SWAT officers closing in on the bodega where the shots originated

Video showed dozens of SWAT officers closing in on the bodega where the shots originated

Newark Police Officer Joseph Kerik, the son of former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, was one of the SWAT officers who stormed the market in an armored vehicle and shot the two desperate criminals dead

Newark Police Officer Joseph Kerik, the son of former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik, was one of the SWAT officers who stormed the market in an armored vehicle and shot the two desperate criminals dead

Witness Brian Clark told CBS2: 'I got caught in a one way street with a bunch of cars and I was wondering why nobody was moving. And all of a sudden I heard it. All the shots started. Shots started ringing out. 

'When I heard it, I see people running. I got out of the car and I see cops ducked down, and cops getting out of the way. 

'And I'm wondering why, what the hell? So I get out of my car and I see it, and I heard it – pow pow pow pow pow – then I realized I was in a shootout. I never heard that many shots in my life. It was like I was in a war zone.'  

Andy Patel, works at a liquor store about three blocks away from the site of the shooting, told the Associated Press there had been consistent gunfire for at least an hour.  

'I can hear the gunshots. It's like firecrackers going off,' Patel said. 'They were shooting like crazy about an hour ago. Then it stopped for like 20 or 30 minutes. The cops were clearing everyone off the streets.' 

The standoff sparked a massive multi-agency response, and the scene was flooded with heavily armed NYPD emergency services unit officers, FBI agents,Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents, and counter-terrorism task force officers.  

Police blocked off the area while dozens of bystanders stood around the perimeter and filmed the action on their cellphones. 

Children are seen heading home after sunset when the all-clear was finally given after the shootout

Children are seen heading home after sunset when the all-clear was finally given after the shootout

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