The Mall at Short Hills Carjacking Victim Died Protecting Wife
The man who was shot and killed in a mall parking garage in New Jersey was protecting his wife, according to sources close to the investigation.
The victim Dustin Friedland, 30, a lawyer from Hoboken, was shot and killed in the parking garage of The Mall at Short Hills just after 9 p.m. Sunday, authorities in Essex County, N.J., revealed.
Friedland was with his wife Jamie Schare Friedland, 27, and was approached by two males who then shot the victim in the head.
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"The victim had opened the door for his wife, she had started to get in the vehicle," Carolyn Murray, the acting Essex County prosecutor, told the Post. "As he got to the driver's side and started to get ready to enter the vehicle, he was approached by two males and was shot before he entered his vehicle."
Sources close to the investigation stated that the victim refused to hand over his keys knowing that his wife was still in the car.
"He knew his wife was in there and he refused," a source told the Post.
The victim was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly before midnight. The victim's wife was not injured during the incident.
Family of the victim was certain that he would not have put his wife in harm's way.
"He would never have done anything stupid, like grab for a gun-- but I know he would not have hesitated to protect Jamie," the victim's uncle, Dr. Mark Schare, told the Post on Monday.
Authorities stated the two suspects then sped away in the couple's silver Range Rover. The SUV was found Monday morning parked on a residential street in Newark about eight miles from the mall.
Police described the suspects as two African-American males but could not provide any other details. A local anti-crime organization is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to their arrest and conviction.
