Third Jersey City store shooting victim mourned by loved ones

PATERSON — An employee of the JC Kosher Supermarket who was killed during last week's deadly shooting in Jersey City was remembered as a "good father and husband" at a memorial service Saturday night.

Douglas Rodriquez, 49, was working at the store Tuesday when David Anderson, 47, and Francine Graham, 50, parked a U-Haul van across the street and began firing into the store.

The Michigan Memorial Funeral Home in Paterson was filled with mourners for Rodriguez, whose final resting place will be his native Ecuador, according to a GoFundMe page created by his niece to help the family with funeral related expenses.

Rabbi David Niederman, the executive director of the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg told CBS New York that police said Rodriquez helped a fourth person in the store escape as the suspects began firing shots. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal previously said that person, whose identity has remained undisclosed, is recovering from a gunshot wound.

Grewal said Rodriquez, along with Leah Minda Ferencz and Moshe Hersh Deutch, likely were shot and killed within the first moments of the incident.

During the Saturday service Rodriquez's wife, Martha Freire, was presented with an American flag that had been flown over the Capital building in his honor, according to NorthJersey.com.

The same report from NorthJersey.com said Freire told those at the memorial that it is hard to cope with the aftermath of her husband's death, saying "I’m sustained by the love of my daughter and by the love of this man."

Also at the memorial, Rodriguez's daughter, Amy, said that she missed her father, according to NJ.com, which quoted her as saying “I love my father with all my heart, I miss him. I want to thank God for all the years that he gave me with him. And I will always have him in my heart."

Grewal, Gov. Phil Murphy, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh were among those in attendance at the memorial.

Rodriguez came to the United States after losing his job as a commercial engineer, according to Fulop.

Sayegh wrote on his Facebook page that Rodriguez "lost his life because of the hateful and horrific acts that took place in Jersey City. He drove an hour and a half, six days week to work 12 hours a day so he could support his family."

Jersey City police detective Joseph Seals, who was shot to death by Anderson and Graham in a cemetery before the deadly shootout at the store, will be laid to rest this week.

A viewing for Seals is Monday at McLaughlin Funeral Home in Jersey City from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., followed by a funeral mass at Saint Aedan’s Church in Jersey City on Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Ferencz and Deutch were both buried last week, following their deaths Tuesday.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ