The man who authorities believe fatally shot a New Jersey councilwoman outside her home in February was arrested Tuesday in Virginia. Authorities identified Rashid Ali Bynum, 28, as the suspect in the killing of Eunice Dwumfour, a 30-year-old Republican member of the Sayreville Borough Council who was shot inside her car, said Middlesex County, N.J., prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone, the Washington Post reports. Authorities said they used surveillance video, witnesses’ statements, and phone records to track down Bynum. He is charged with first degree murder, second degree unlawful possession of a gun and second degree possession of a gun for an unlawful purpose.
“This was a very complex [and] extensive case,” Ciccone said. “The murder has shaken the community and no arrest will bring back the late councilwoman.” Dwumfour, a business analyst, IT professional and part-time EMT worker, had served on the borough council since 2022 after she defeated her Democratic opponent. The incident occurred on Feb. 1, when police in Sayreville, N.J., responded to 911 calls reporting gunshots outside an apartment complex. Officers found Dwumfour unresponsive with gunshot wounds inside her Nissan SUV outside her townhouse. The months-long investigation found Bynum’s number saved as a contact in the councilwoman’s phone with the acronym FCF, which authorities believe stood for the Fire Congress Fellowship, a church Dwumfour once belonged to. The day of the shooting, Bynum searched online for information related to the councilwoman’s church. Days before the shooting. Bynum also looked up what magazines were compatible with a gun authorities later recovered in Virginia. Investigators said a phone tied to Bynum traveled from Virginia to New Jersey the night of the shooting and “immediately” returned to the Virginia area following the incident.