Short Hills Carjacking Victim Dies – Car Found in Newark – Do You Fear Going to the Mall? [POLL]

The story of what happened to Toms River native Dustin Friedland while returning from a shopping trip to the Short Hills Mall is going to raise an awful lot of questions like, “do we need to bring back the death penalty?”; and “should we be allowed to carry concealed weapons?”

All valid and all grist for the mill.

But the overriding question is one that immediately occurred upon hearing the news last night, and that is, “will you now fear going to the mall?”

Friedland was shot in the head while about to get into his late model Range Rover with his wife looking on. The vehicle was taken and left on a Newark street this morning.

News reports as of this still have the assailants still at large (although some news outlets have not given a description of them.)

According to this:

A manhunt is underway for the two gunmen that shot and killed a man after a violent carjacking at an upscale mall in New Jersey late Sunday night, authorities said.

Police are searching for two callous crooks that sped off in a stolen silver Range Rover after fatally shooting Dustin Friedland in the head in front of his wife at The Mall at Short Hills, cops said.

Police located Friedland's stolen car, a 2012 silver Range Rover, license plate U26-BVD, Monday in a garage on Renner Ave. in Newark, acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Millburn Police Chief Greogry Weber said in a joint statement.

Friedland, 30, was a project manager at Epic Mechanical, a firm based in Neptune, N.J. that "analyzed construction-related legal claims," according to the man's LinkedIn profile.
The shooting occurred around 9 p.m. when the couple returned to their vehicle, parked in third level garage near Nordstrom. As Friedland approached the driver’s side of the SUV, the suspects fired four shots, one of which killed him.

"We do not know why that car (was targeted), but it obviously was a car with some value," Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said Sunday.

Friedland's wife was not injured during the incident.

The high-end New Jersey mall sports 150 shops, including Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue. The mall usually closed at 6 p.m. but was open for extended holiday shopping, according to reports.

Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call 877-847-7432. A $10,000 reward has been issued for information that leads to the suspect's arrest, cops said.

This is the second time recently that there has been bloodshed at a mall in New Jersey. Richard Shoop was fatally wounded by police in November after terrorizing patrons of the Garden State Plaza Mall with a high-powered rifle. Shoop, a 20-year-old man with a history of drug abuse, opened fire at the mall, but did not hit anyone.

Leading you to wonder whether or not malls are safe in the first place. And if not just security but regular citizens need to arm themselves just to make a leisurely shopping expedition.