Man arrested in slaying of New Jersey councilwoman apparently knew victim from church

VIRGINIA — (VIRGINIA) -- A Virginia man has been arrested for the murder of New Jersey councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, who was gunned down outside her home in February.

Rashid Ali Bynum, 28, who apparently knew Dwumfour from church, was taken into custody Tuesday morning on charges including first-degree murder, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced at a news conference Tuesday.

On Feb. 1, Dwumfour, a 30-year-old mom and church leader, was shot multiple times while she was in her SUV outside her townhouse.

According to Ciccone, Bynum was a contact in Dwomfour's phone under the acronym "FCF," which authorities believe stands for "Fire Congress Fellowship," a church that the congresswoman was previously affiliated with, "which was also associated with the Champion Royal Assembly, the victim's church at the time of her death."

On the day of the shooting, Bynum allegedly searched online for information on the Champion Royal Assembly church and the Sayreville area, according to Ciccone.

In the days before the murder, Bynum allegedly searched online for what magazines were compatible with a specific handgun, she said.

Bynum's phone traveled from Virginia to New Jersey at the time of the murder, and Bynum's physical description matched a witness description of the suspect at the scene, Ciccone said.

Officials did not discuss a possible motive and did not take questions from reporters.

Ciccone called it a "complex, extensive case."

For Dwumfour's family, the last few months have "been a rollercoaster of emotions," family lawyer John Wisniewski told ABC News on Wednesday.

And while the family is glad a suspect was arrested, Wisniewski said they're also left with more questions.

Bynum "is not a name or a face that they're familiar with," Wisniewski said, and the family is "struggling for understanding what this man's connection to their daughter was, what was his thinking."

Dwumfour, a business analyst and a part-time emergency medical technician, was elected as a Republican to the Sayreville Borough Council in 2021, defeating an incumbent Democrat.

"There are no words that can be said to you to make you whole," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said to Dwumfour's family, who attended the press conference. "I did not know Eunice. I wish I had. But I know that she was a public servant."

"I hope that today is the beginning of a healing process, and also the beginning of a sense of justice," he added.

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