Mall Carjacking Victim Was Toms River Native
The man killed during a carjacking at the Mall at Short Hills on Sunday night has been identified as Dustin Friedland of Hoboken, an attorney and graduate of Toms River High School North.
The 30-year-old Friedland and his wife, Jamie Schare Friedland, were carjacked on the third-level parking deck at about 9 p.m Sunday after shopping at the mall, authorities said. According to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, they were approached by two men as Friedland was entering the driver's side of their 2012 silver Range Rover. He was shot in the head and died at Morristown Medical Center shortly before midnight. His wife was not injured, authorities said.
Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray, in a Sunday night press conference at the mall, said: "Preliminary information is we're looking for two African-American males who left the scene in that vehicle."
The Prosecutor's Office also confirmed the Range Rover was located in a Newark garage in the 200 block of Renner Avenue on Monday morning.
The Essex County Sheriff’s Crime Stoppers program is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspects in this case. Anyone with information about the shooting or the suspects should call the Essex County Prosecutor's Tipline at 1 (877) 847-7432.
According to their professional profiles on LinkedIn, Friedland was an attorney with Epic Mechanical and his wife is also an attorney, specializing in landlord tenant law at a New York firm. Both were graduates of Syracuse University's School of Law. The Asbury Park Press reported that Friedland was also a 2002 graduate of Toms River High School North.
The mall was put on lockdown following the incident but police say there was no immediate threat to anyone inside the mall and the lockdown was lifted.
There were no real visible signs of panic outside the mall and no one was evacuated reports the Star-Ledger.
7 ABC reports Short Hills and Millburn police set up road blocks to find the car and the mall, open until 9 p.m. for holiday shopping according to the mall's website..
The Short Hills Mall is located in Short Hills near Route 24. It is an upscale mall whose stores include Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue and 150 "boutique stores."
Anyone with information about the shooting or the suspects should call the Essex County Prosecutor's Tipline at 1(877)847-7432.
MORE COVERAGE:
- Short Hills fatal carjacking victim graduated from Toms River HS North / Asbury Park Press
- Short Hills Mall Carjacking Victim Identified Himself As Toms River Native / Toms River Patch
- Short Hills Mall shooting: Victims' Range Rover recovered / 7 ABC
- Man Shopping With Wife Killed in Carjacking at Upscale New Jersey Mall: Prosecutors / NBC 4 New York
- 30-year-old Hudson County man shot at Short Hills mall dies, authorities say/ Star-Ledger
- Official: Carjacking Victim Shot At Short Hills Mall / CBS New York
- N.J. mall shooting victim was Hoboken attorney, sources say / Star-Ledger