mall short hillsLATEST UPDATE: Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray and Millburn Police Chief just announced that the Millburn Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the fatal shooting  at the Short Hills mall.

Dustin Friedland, 30, an attorney from Hoboken was fatally shot yesterday night at approximately 9 p.m. He was transported to Morristown Medical Center where he was pronounced dead shortly before midnight. His wife was with him at the time of the shooting. She was uninjured but was also taken to the hospital.

The Range Rover driven by the couple was located this morning in Newark in the 200 block of Renner Avenue.

At this time the investigation remains active and ongoing. No arrests have been made.

Update: The 30 year old male victim of the carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills was pronounced dead at Morristown Medical Center at 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, 12/15/13. The victim’s name was being withheld pending notification of family members.

Police are looking for the victim’s stolen 2012 Silver Range Rover, license plate U26 BVD.

A man was shot in the parking lot of the Short Hills Mall just before 9 p.m. Sunday evening; police have confirmed the incident happened as a result of a carjacking. The man and his wife were returning to their car, parked near Nordstrom, when they were confronted by two men. The man shot in the head and taken to Morristown Medical Center. His wife was not injured. The mall was put on lockdown briefly after the shooting.

33 replies on “Victim, 30, In Short Hills Mall Shooting, Dies (Updated)”

  4. This is horrifying. My heart goes out to his wife, family and friends.

    (…. Animals. Take the car, but why shoot the owner? These are the types of crimes that keep me from being completely against the death penalty.)

  5. they announced they found the car abandoned in Newark. Is it just me but does this seem really strange? They kill him for his car and then just abandon it without a plan to get it on a tanker or something? Could this be a targeted killing made to look like a carjacking? They shot him in the head and left his wife unharmed. It’s just an awful story! Such a young couple with so much ahead of them. I hope they catch these killers and soon.

  6. Yes, lots of unanswered questions, still tragic. Why steal a $90,000 car just to abandon it? Prof, I am with you. Some crimes just beg for the death penalty.

  8. There was never a question in my mind that it would ultimately be some guys from Newark and that the vehicle would be found in Newark. It’s standard operating procedure for Newark. Cars are stolen by Newark tourists in order to commit criminal acts (robbery, shooting, etc) while touring. After they are done using it for drive by assaults and flossing down the ave, they put on some shows by doing donuts until the wheels burn off. It’s the New Yorkers who tend to actually try and tag or resell the cars they steal. Too bad there is no way for citizens in NJ to protect themselves.

  9. So very sad. Shopping for presents, then WHAM

    Many cars are stolen to order for parts, others for amusement and then abandoned. With Lo-Jack and recovery teams regularly patrolling in Newark, East Orange, etc the chop shops often want the high end cars parked some where to cool off. If the cops don’t recover it, you can bring it into the shop and chop it for parts.

    If there’s a $10,000 reward out for these killers, there’s probably a friend or neighbor or gang buddy, etc ready to turn them in…

  10. I would think that whomever was to be the recipient of the stolen vehicle called off the deal once they learned that they would be tied to a murder. The cops will have these geniuses in custody shortly since they have most likely been previously acquainted with the authorities. Too bad this wasn’t Texas. There, the bad actors think twice because often the target is often armed, and they’re the ones that end up in the morgue, and if things go the other way it’s lethal injection time. 🙂

  12. Such a sad story. My condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. I hope that members of whichever gang this murderer belongs to turns him in or that he drinks one too many and brags about this exploit to someone who will turn him in.

  13. “Too bad this wasn’t Texas”

    —where the murder rate in 2012 was the same as in NJ…

    Old men who dream of this being Texas should just move to Texas. You’ll be safer from the UN Agenda 21 Shock Troops there too! Bye!

  14. The comments regarding M.O. here are 100% correct. A car is never taken directly to the shop and rate of success is obviously tied to the profile of the theft. In this case the crime actually made CNN headlines so there was little chance this car would ever cool off. Renner makes sense, a somewhat quiet street for Newark, close enough to a few shops yet minimized time on the road in the vehicle as its right off 78.

  15. As soon as I saw the headline it was obvious that this originated from Newark. As far as taking the car to a chop shop goes, I doubt that was ever the intent. It seems more likely that the “actors” had nothing else better to do so they thought they would pop a honky a steal a Range’ with no end game. Once it ended up on CNN they realized the heat was on them so best to ditch the new ride and wait a while before they do it again.

  16. I disagree redrum. As dumb as these criminals are, I think they understand that they will not be able to cruise around in a stolen range rover after killing the owner. This was a quick trade.

  17. ” . . . pop a honky a steal and steal a Range.”

    It’s been quite a while since I’ve watched a Super Fly movie.

  19. Alot of thieves tend to leverage the major arteries tied to Newark as a means to easily evade detection between points A and B. In the process used to find a family member’s car it was uncovered that a good number of thieves were using the Hospitals garage in Newark as a cool-down because cars cant be seen from the air. It seems that the reason this was abandoned was due to the additional heat on the car that would deter one from using it for a further purpose..Price aside, in north jersey, the RR sport is a pretty popular vehicle..tie in it being a generic color similar to gold/silver/champagne and Im sure you could get away with it long enough to accomplish what one needed to do.

  20. This was on the third floor of enclosed garage. Once security hears the sound of gunshots, can’t an upscale mall like this figure out a way to lockdown the exit(s)?

  21. More importantly, where was the security camera? Who was watching it? The Short Hills Mall is no stranger to carjackings and robberies. Why is such an upscale mall still using an antiquated system?

  25. “Locking down the exits” at the Short Hills mall might have the added problem of creating a shooting gallery for the perps, if that was their intent. Similar to what happened in Kenya. Terrorists and swat teams mowed down dozens of innocent victims.

    Security at malls tends to be a very finely tuned process, focused on loss prevention. Having highly visible police officers with automatic rifles etc might not be considered in the proper mood for the holiday spirit.

    NJ’s catch and release policy for violent criminals, plea bargaining to minor charges, and large population of career criminals might be worth considering, too. Many very dangerous, heavily armed anti-social folks are out driving around looking for something to steal.

  26. The shooting in Kenya was political in nature. The killers were looking to kill non-Muslims. These perps were out to steal an expensive car. Very different type of crime.

  28. Turns out I have a friend that lives not far from here whose car was stolen by members of this same crew, last summer. Apparently 5 of 10 known members have been apprehended, as per the Essex Fells police in their call to my friend yesterday. So it’s only a matter of time before these malefactors are picked up and given some rough Newark justice. Remember, it’s a jury of one’s peers, and that has been my observation from jury duty… And Cunningham, you’re still a major league retard.

  29. BTW, I’ve lived in Texas, and while the murder rate may be high, lets not forget the important distinction that many more violent criminals are destined not to be repeat offenders! 🙂

  32. The shooting in Kenya was political in nature. The killers were looking to kill non-Muslims. These perps were out to steal an expensive car. Very different type of crime.

    —————

    No question about that.

    However, the post that I quoted was in response to locking the exits of the mall. Lock in the patrons, and you could certainly have a shooting gallery effect.

    Especially in NJ, where only the criminals pack heat. And the crack heads, meth fiends, etc

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