A 30-year-old man, who had been returning to his car with his wife after shopping, was killed during a carjacking last night at the Mall at Short Hills in Short Hills, NJ. The two suspects fled in the couple's 2012 silver Range Rover, with the license plate U26BVD. Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said, "We do not know why that car (was targeted), but it obviously was a car with some value."
According to the Star-Ledger, the couple was heading back to their car parked in the mall's parking deck near Nordstorm's at 8:30 p.m.: "The mall, which normally closes early on Sunday, was open for extended holiday shopping hours." The shopping center, which is 13 miles west of Newark Airport, has high-end retailers, such as Cartier, Hermes, Giorgio Armani, Neiman Marcus and Prada.
The victim, who lived in Hudson County, died at 11:45 p.m. at Morristown Memorial Hospital. His wife was not injured.
An employee at California Pizza Kitchen told the Post, "It was at least two gunshots. People started ducking and panicking. We had to barricade everyone inside. I could hear a woman screaming her head off. It was brutal. She was shrieking."
Dustin Friedland
: Sources say the victim was Hoboken resident Dustin Friedland, a patent attorney. Apparently he was shot in the head. The Star-Ledger reports, "The sources, who are familiar with the investigation but were not authorized to speak on the record, verified that Friedland was the victim of a carjacking." Also, the car was found recovered in Newark, on Renner Avenue.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call (877) 847-7432.
