The suspects began their killing spree at a Jersey City cemetery, fatally shooting a veteran police officer before driving a stolen U-Haul van to the front door of a family-owned kosher market and opening fire again — setting off a hours-long gun battle that would leave a total of six people dead and the Jewish community on both sides of the Hudson River in mourning.
As the investigation continued Tuesday, authorities directly involved in the case were hesitant to identify a motive for the two suspects, whose bodies were recovered among the hundreds of shell casings beside the store owner, a bystander and an employee. But Jewish leaders were quick to call the attack an act of hate, and both Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made public statements condemning anti-Semitism.
