MILLBURN The 30-year-old man who was shot and killed during a carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills on Sunday night apparently struggled with his attackers shortly before he was killed, law enforcement sources told The Star-Ledger today.
Dustin Friedland, an attorney from Hoboken, tried to fend off the two men who tried to carjack his 2012 silver Range Rover at gunpoint in the mall parking lot around 9:10 p.m. on Sunday, according to the two sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Hoboken neighbor remembers mall shooting victim Anna Stanin, a neighbor of Dustin Friedland, says he was a very nice person who would stop by and talk to her about the business she runs. Friedland, 30, was shot and killed at the Mall at Short Hills on Sunday night. He and his wife were approach by two men who shot Friedland and stole the SUV. His wife was not harmed in the carjacking. Video by Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerFriedland was shot in the head during the altercation, according to Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray, and he died at Morristown Memorial Medical Center at 11:45 p.m. His wife was with him at the time, but she was not injured, Murray said.
Several officials with knowledge of the investigation also painted a clearer portrait of the shooting during interviews on Monday.
The assailants, who were not identified, entered the mall complex in a green sport-utility vehicle, possibly a Subaru, and were caught on video circling the lot, two of the sources said.
Friedland had opened the front door of the Range Rover for his wife, and was trying to enter the vehicle himself when he was approached by the two carjackers, the sources said.
A struggle ensued, and several shots were fired, including the one that killed Friedland, the sources said. Investigators believe the shooter used a handgun, according to the sources.
One of the attackers then entered the vehicle and ordered Friedland's wife out of the car at gunpoint, according to one source. The carjackers then sped away in two different cars, Friedland's Range Rover, and the Subaru they drove to the mall in, the sources said.
On Sunday night, 55-year-old Robert Newman, a driver for Country Club Services, which provides shuttle service for mall employees, said he heard two gunshots and then saw a green Subaru drive by at high rate of speed.
The Subaru went out of here at about 100 miles per hour, Newman said.
Friedland was a project manager who analyzed legal claims at a Neptune contracting firm, Epic Mechanical Inc., according to a LinkedIn social media profile. He received his law degree in 2009 at Syracuse University, according to the LinkedIn page.
Neighbors of Friedland's parents, who live in Toms River, said the carjacking was a "needless act."
"The whole family are God's children," said the woman, who asked not to be identified to maintain her privacy. "They would give you the shirt off your back. Dustin would have given them the car. ... Dustin was sweet, kind, gentle, giving. I just can't believe God took him away so soon. He didn't deserve it."
Dustin and his wife had no children, according to the neighbor.
No detailed description of the carjackers has been released to the public but anyone with information regarding the shooting or the whereabouts of the suspects is urged to call the tips line at (877) 847-7432.
Star-Ledger Staff writers Sue Epstein and Lisa Rose contributed to this report.
MORE ESSEX COUNTY NEWSSource: http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2013/12/sources_victim_in_deadly_short_hills_mall_carjacking_struggled_with_attackers.html
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