A Marine Corps veteran from New Jersey died in Ukraine while trying to rescue civilians in war-ravaged Bakhmut, according to humanitarian groups.&nbsp;

Pete Reed, 33, was from Bordentown and was working with <a href="https://www.globaloutreachdoctors.org/in-memoriam-pete-reed/">Global Outreach Doctors.</a>&nbsp;The group says a missile hit his evacuation truck.

Reed founded Global Response Medicine after serving in Iraq to help those displaced by war. Both humanitarian groups confirmed his death.

"Pete will be remembered for the depth of his courage and his compassion, his selflessness, and his sacrifice,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. “His death serves as a devastating reminder of the catastrophic suffering that this unjustified war has caused.”

Pete Reed, 33, was from Bordentown and was working with Global Outreach Doctors. The group says a missile hit his evacuation truck.

Marine Corps vet from New Jersey dies helping civilians in war-torn Ukraine

ALERTS: Small craft advisory along the Jersey Shore and into the New York Harbor through Sunday evening.

NOW: We are still seeing subfreezing wind chills this morning across the region, but temperatures will rise and there will be a mild and pleasant afternoon.

NEW: A few showers are possible along the Jersey Shore this evening into the overnight. Things should clear into the Monday morning commute.

NEXT:&nbsp;A warmer-than-average workweek ahead with mild conditions in the 40s and 50s. Rain chances return Thursday with even some possibilities for ice and snow mixed into wrap up the week.

Storm Watch Team Meteorologist&nbsp;Scott Sincoff says it will be cold this morning before conditions warm up this afternoon.&nbsp;

SUNDAY: Mostly to partly cloudy with milder conditions into the afternoon after a cold start. Highs in the 40s. Wind 10-15 mph, gusts 20 mph.

OVERNIGHT: Showers along the Jersey Shore with clearing skies into Monday morning. Lows in the 30s. Wind 5-15 mph.

MONDAY: Mostly sunny with highs in the 40s and 50s. Wind 5-15 mph.

TUESDAY: Partly cloudy with showers possible overnight. Highs in the 40s and the lows near 40.

WEDNESDAY: Increasing clouds. Highs around 50 with lows around freezing.

THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy with a shower chance. Mix possible early in northwest NJ. Highs in the 50s.

FRIDAY: Partly cloudy with a shower chance late. Highs in the 50s.

SATURDAY: Rain or snow showers possible. Highs in the 40s.

SUNDAY: Partly cloudy and breezy. Highs in the 30s.

Storm Watch Team Meteorologist Scott Sincoff says it will be cold this morning before conditions warm up this afternoon. 

Mostly cloudy and milder Sunday in New Jersey with chance of showers

A champion was crowned in Pizza Bowl 3 this weekend. 

News 12's Jim Murdoch sampled some of the finalists at Redd's in Carlstadt.

He was a judge with others like Stephen Baker, the “Touchdown Maker of the Giants," and Young Rascals singer Eddie Brigati.

For the second year in a row, PizzAmore in Carlstadt took honors for Best Meatball. Coniglio's in Morristown won Best Pizza

The event raised $20,000 for Tunnels to Towers.

Plans were already announced for Pizza Bowl 4 next year.

Coniglio's in Morristown crowned as winner of Pizza Bowl 3

Police ramped up efforts Saturday night in their investigation into <a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/search-for-gunman-shot-killed-sayreville-councilwoman-continues">the fatal shooting of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour</a>.

Police are now asking for the public's help and set up electronic boards asking the community for any information connected to Wednesday night's shooting death of Dwumfour.

Police set up the billboards on Ernston Road, near Boro Hall and just down the road from near the Garden State Parkway in hopes that someone will have video footage from dashboard cameras.

The request for help with the investigation also went out to Dwumfour's neighbors at the Harbor Club and La Mer Developments where she was killed Wednesday night in a barrage of gun fire while she was in her SUV.

Neighbors were asked to check footage from their surveillance cameras from Wednesday night between the hours of 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Several of the homes at the Camelot Apartment Complex visibly had surveillance cameras outside, some even pointed to where neighbors said the shooting happened.

Police arrived at the scene just after 7 p.m. that night to find Dwumfour in her car. Her white Nissan SUV had rolled down Check Avenue where she lived and careened into a grey Mercedes after she had been shot multiple times.

Neighbors told News 12 New Jersey someone was seen running toward a wooded area that borders the apartment complex.

On Thursday, drones and K-9 units were used to search the area.

In addition to the calls for help from the police department on Saturday night, the development also asked residents to help with the investigation.

"We have a community that's very tight knit. Everyone is looking out for one another, so I know there have been people reaching out to each other just making sure, 'what can we do?'" said resident Gayle Sarapochillo. "This innocent beautiful woman who was a hard-working person, a mother of an 11-year-old daughter, what could we do?"

Police are also asking anyone who drove along Gondek Road and Point of Woods Drive on Wednesday evening to also check their dash cams for any information that could be linked to the investigation. They added that all information will be kept confidential.  

Anyone with information is asked to call Sayreville police at (732) 727-4444.

Police are now asking for the public's help and set up electronic boards asking the community for any information connected to Wednesday night's shooting death of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour.

Police ramp up efforts to solve probe of Sayreville councilwoman's fatal shooting

The NYPD says an off-duty officer was shot during a robbery Saturday in Brooklyn.&nbsp; He is in critical condition.&nbsp;

NYPD investigators say the officer was shot while trying to purchase a vehicle through a transaction that was set up on social media.&nbsp;

Fabien Levy, spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams, tweeted just before 9 p.m. Saturday that an officer was shot.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The shooter has not been apprehended and the officer's identity has not been released.&nbsp; NYPD officials say he is a 5-year veteran. NYPD Commissioner&nbsp;Keechant Sewell says he is "fighting for his life."&nbsp;

Sources say the officer was shot while attempting to purchase a vehicle. 

Off-duty NYPD officer shot during robbery, in critical condition

Police say officers fatally shot a man in Fort Lee Saturday morning.

Authorities say the officers responded to a 911 call from a home on John Street at around 8:15 a.m.

The identity of the person killed was being withheld as of Saturday night.

It was not immediately clear what led up to the killing.

The state attorney general investigates all police shootings.

This most recent shooting comes about a month after another incident rocked the community after federal drug investigation went awry.

In that incident, police shot a suspect after a crash in the middle of the afternoon at a busy intersection.

 Man shot by police officers responding to 911 call in Fort Lee

The U.S. military on Saturday shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast on orders from President Joe Biden after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America, the latest flashpoint in tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Biden wanted the balloon downed on Wednesday but was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water, U.S. officials said. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.

The presence of the balloon in the skies above the U.S. this week dealt a severe blow to already strained U.S.-Chinese relations that have been in a downward spiral for years. It prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes Beijing trip aimed at easing tensions.

“They successfully took it down and I want to compliment our aviators who did it,” Biden said after getting off Air Force One en route to Camp David.

The giant white orb was spotted Saturday morning over the Carolinas as it approached the Atlantic coast. About 2:39 p.m. EST, an F-22 fighter jet fired a missile at the balloon, puncturing it while it was about 6 nautical miles off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, senior defense officials said.

The spectacle had Americans looking to the skies all week, wondering whether the mysterious balloon had floated over them.

On Saturday, Ashlyn Preaux, 33, went out to get her mail in Forestbrook, South Carolina, and noticed her neighbors looking up — and there it was, the balloon in the cloudless blue sky. Then she saw fighter jets circling and the balloon get hit.

“I did not anticipate waking up to be in a ‘Top Gun’ movie today,” she said.

The debris landed in 47 feet of water, shallower than officials had expected, and it spread out over roughly seven miles and the recovery operation included several ships. The officials estimated the recovery efforts would be completed in a short time, not weeks. A salvage vessel was en route.

U.S. defense and military officials said Saturday that the balloon entered the U.S. air defense zone north of the Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace in the Northwest Territories on Monday. It crossed back into U.S. territory over northern Idaho on Tuesday, the day the White House said Biden was first briefed on it.

The balloon was spotted Thursday over Montana, home to Malmstrom Air Force Base, which has fields of nuclear missile silos.

The Americans were able to collect intelligence on the balloon as it flew over the U.S., giving them a number of days to analyze it and learn how it moved and what it was capable of surveilling, according to two senior defense officials said. The officials briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The officials said the U.S. military was constantly assessing the threat, and concluded that the technology on the balloon didn’t give the Chinese significant intelligence beyond what it could already obtain from satellites, though the U.S. took steps to mitigate what information it could gather as it moved along.

Republicans were critical of Biden’s response.

“Allowing a spy balloon from the Communist Party of China to travel across the entire continental United States before contesting its presence is a disastrous projection of weakness by the White House,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., tweeted: “Now that this embarrassing episode is over, we need answers from the Biden Administration on the decision-making process. Communist China was allowed to violate American sovereignty unimpeded for days. We must be better prepared for future provocations and incursions by the CCP.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was more positive: “Thank you to the men and women of the United States military who were responsible for completing the mission to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon. The Biden Administration did the right thing in bringing it down.”

China has continued to claim that the balloon was merely a weather research “airship” that had been blown off course. The Pentagon rejected that out of hand — as well as China’s contention that it was not being used for surveillance and had only limited navigational ability.

The Chinese government on Saturday sought to play down the cancellation of Blinken’s trip. “In actuality, the U.S. and China have never announced any visit, the U.S. making any such announcement is their own business, and we respect that,” China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Pentagon also acknowledged reports of a second balloon flying over Latin America. “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a question about the second balloon.

This isn’t the first time Chinese spy balloons have crossed into U.S. airspace in recent years, one of the officials said. At least three times during the Trump administration and at least one other time during Biden’s time as president they’ve seen balloons cross, but not for this long, the official said.

Blinken, who had been due to depart Washington for Beijing late Friday, said he had told senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in a phone call that sending the balloon over the U.S. was “an irresponsible act and that (China’s) decision to take this action on the eve of my visit is detrimental to the substantive discussions that we were prepared to have.”

Uncensored reactions on the Chinese internet mirrored the official government stance that the U.S. was hyping the situation. Some used it as a chance to poke fun at U.S. defenses, saying it couldn’t even defend against a balloon, and nationalist influencers leaped to use the news to mock the U.S.

China has denied any claims of spying and said it is a civilian-use balloon intended for meteorology research. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the balloon’s journey was out of its control and urged the U.S. not to “smear” it because of the balloon.

In preparation for the operation Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily closed airspace over the Carolina coast, including the airports in Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The FAA rerouted air traffic from the area and warned of delays as a result of the flight restrictions. The FAA and Coast Guard worked to clear the airspace and water below the balloon as it reached the ocean.

Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the giant deflated balloon descending like a ribbon toward the water.

Bill Swanson said he watched the balloon deflate instantly from his house in Myrtle Beach as fighter jets circled around.

“When it deflated it was pretty close to instantaneous,” he said. “One second it’s there like a tiny moon and the next second it’s gone.” Swanson added that a trail of smoke followed the balloon as it dropped.

The balloon was downed by Air Force fighter aircraft, according to two officials who were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

US downs Chinese balloon, a flashpoint in US-China tensions

A building on Hudson County Community College's Jersey City campus was evacuated Saturday after a gas service line was damaged, according to PSE&amp;G.  

The culinary conference center on the college’s Journal Square campus at 161 Newkirk Street had to be evacuated due to the damage. It is unclear how many people were inside the building at the time.

PSE&amp;G said they received a call at 12:45 p.m. reporting damage to one of the service lines. They also said gas to the building was shut off as crews actively worked to address the issue.

Veolia North America Manager Communications and Community Relations Christopher Halleron told News 12 New Jersey crews responded to valve leak on a six-inch main near Newkirk Street and Sip Avenue. While excavating for the valve, crews came into unexpected contact with PSE&amp;G infrastructure.

Out of an abundance of caution, buildings in the area were evacuated until PSE&amp;G arrived to assess the situation.

Halleron said the area was soon declared safe and crews proceeded to repair the valve. He added that the valve repair did not impact residential water services.

The culinary conference center on the college’s Journal Square campus at 161 Newkirk Street had to be evacuated due to the damage.

Hudson County Community College’s Jersey City campus evacuated following gas service line damage

A polar plunge in Sea Girt took place
this morning during a bitter blast of cold air – it didn’t stop participants
from raising money for local veterans.

The event, now in its second year, was
organized by the Coastal Habitat for Humanity. News 12’s Ali Reid spoke
with&nbsp;Heather Tiarsi, the group’s
director, who said those who just “stick their toes in the water” would be
credited with a full plunge.

All of the proceeds from the event are going toward the
Coastal Habitat for Humanity’s <a href="https://runsignup.com/Race/NJ/SeaGirt/SeaGirtPolarPlunge?fbclid=IwAR3aM9zQM8BAqYkq6KbFj1u-75hCefhEl3Hfm_xzGhzp1Bbyu4wxxncqVZE">LIFT program</a>, which supports home repairs and
renovations for veterans in the community.

Participants tell News 12 they are glad to contribute to a good cause.  

“It is a beautiful charity. We are going to make money for our soldiers, and I want to dip anyway, it is good for your heart,” said Paul Impellizeri. 

“As a fellow veteran, this is great to be out here in support because I know what it feels like to be alone…We might be feeling some pain right now, but it is nothing like those boys overseas are doing,” said Matthew Grasso.

The event, now in its second year, was organized by the Coastal Habitat for Humanity. 

Helping veterans trumps cold weather during Sea Girt polar plunge

Temperatures across New Jersey dropped below freezing on Friday night. Strong winds made conditions feel even colder.

As the temperatures dropped, many cities around the state issued Cold Blues. Some residents braved the cold weather rushing into their homes, while others, like Angel, stopped by one of Paterson’s shelters.

“There is nowhere else to go, so if you stay outside, you’ll probably die,” Angel says.

Some of New Jersey’s shelters will remain open until Monday due to the frigid weather.

RELATED:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/tips-protect-home-car-freezing-weather">Tips to protect your home, car from freezing temperatures</a>

<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/tips-protect-home-car-freezing-weather"></a>MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/weather">News 12 New Jersey Weather Center</a>

Another person who came to the shelter tells News 12 that he was driving around and sleeping in his car for several days “because it is cold.”

The cold weather is even more dangerous because of the strong winds which have already caused some damage around the state. A <a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/it-was-a-loud-noise-fallen-tree-damages-car-in-paterson">tree fell on</a> Amy Baez’s car.

“I was shocked. I knew the wind was strong, but I didn’t know it was going to knock down the tree,” she says.

Anyone who needs to find shelter because of the cold can call 211 to find the nearest location.

New Jersey cities issue ‘Code Blues,’ open shelters due to freezing temperatures

Temperatures across New Jersey plummeted Friday evening after a fairly mild winter.

Dozens of people came out to skate at Roosevelt Park Family Skating Rink in Edison, despite the cold weather.

MORE:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/weather">News 12 New Jersey Weather Center</a>

Temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits overnight, with wind chills making conditions feel much colder.

WATCH: Dozens brave the frigid cold to skate at Roosevelt Park ice rink

Debris under the Atlantic City boardwalk caught fire, damaging the walkway, according to authorities.

A spokesperson for the Atlantic City Police Department says that officers spotted flames coming up from under the boardwalk near New Jersey Avenue. It happened just after 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

One firefighter was treated for a minor injury.

A section of the boardwalk will need to be replaced.

A spokesperson for the Atlantic City Police Department says that officers spotted flames coming up from under the boardwalk near New Jersey Avenue. 

Authorities: Debris sparks fire under Atlantic City boardwalk

It could be by a New Jersey musician, be about New Jersey, mention New Jersey or just be a song that reminds you of home.

Amid a big week in music - the Grammy awards on Sunday night and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Bank kicking off their latest tour - News 12's New Jersey's Brian Donohue decided to talk with New Jerseyans about their favorite Jersey jams.

Donohue headed to the Menlo Park Mall where he found fans of musicians from Bon Jovi to Sza to Skid Row all waxing - and singing - about the great Garden State. 

News 12's New Jersey's Brian Donohue decided to talk with New Jerseyans about their favorite Jersey jams.

Positively New Jersey: What’s your favorite ‘New Jersey’ song?

A United States veteran from Howell has accused Republican New York Rep. George Santos of stealing money for his dying service dog.

Richard Osthoff claims that Santos stole money that would have paid for his dog’s surgery in 2016. The dog later died.

RELATED:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/spokesperson-north-shore-animal-league-working-to-get-new-dog-for-veteran-at-center-of-alleged-santos-charity-scheme">Spokesperson: North Shore Animal League working to get new dog for veteran at center of alleged Santos charity scheme</a>

RELATED:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/sources-fbi-contacted-veteran-who-claims-santos-stole-money-for-sick-dog">Sources: FBI contacted veteran who claims Santos stole money for sick dog</a>

“He’s got it all rehearsed. He’s an actor. He’s a con man. He’s heartless,” Osthoff says. “He just kept his charade up. I think he enjoyed toying with me and tearing my heart apart even more and more.”

Santos has denied the claims. The FBI is now investigating.

Santos has come under fire for admittedly lying about certain aspects of his life while he was running for Congress. He was sworn in earlier this year.

Richard Osthoff claims that Rep. George Santos stole money that would have paid for his dog’s surgery in 2016. The dog later died.

‘He’s a con man.’ Veteran from NJ says Rep. Santos stole from dying dog

New Jersey Transit police say they have arrested six people – including four juveniles – related to a fire that destroyed multiple buses.

Officials say that several NJ Transit buses were destroyed by fire in April 2022. They say that through the course of the investigation, they identified two adults and four juveniles linked to the fires. Each was charged by the end of 2022.

RELATED:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/fire-destroys-multiple-buses-at-nj-transit-depot-in-north-bergen">Fire destroys multiple buses at NJ Transit depot in North Bergen</a>

“We share this update as a reminder to all; anyone who trespasses on NJ Transit property and anyone who threatens the safety of the system will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” NJ Transit police write in a statement.

Officials say that several NJ Transit buses were destroyed by fire in April 2022. 

Police: 6 people charged for starting fire on multiple NJ Transit buses

Marie Osmond is making a stop in New Jersey for a concert at Bergen PAC in Englewood. 

Osmond says her concert will include the many musical styles that she has embraced - including country, pop and even opera, which she performs on her latest album, “Unexpected."

"I come from an era of entertainment . So, you will never see me sit and sing a song, sit and sing a song, sit and sing a song," says Osmond.  "The hard thing for me is what numbers do I sing because there's a few. But you'll see different eras highlighted, definitely you'll laugh. I love interaction with the audience and I love people."

Osmond, known for hits such as "Paper Roses," "Meet Me In Montana" (a duet with Dan Seals) and "There's No Stopping Your Heart," rose to fame as a child. She and her brother, Donny Osmond, hosted the popular television variety show "Donny And Marie" beginning in 1976, and the two have often toured together and would later co-host a daytime talk show.

"What I think I'm so grateful for are the parents I had that kept me grounded. And they taught me that it's OK to fail. It's OK. Don't (not) do something because you're afraid you're going to fail. Just do it the best you can and if you fail you learn."

Osmond will perform at Bergen PAC on Saturday, Feb. 18. More information on the show can be found <a href="http://www.bergenpac.org">HERE</a>.

Marie Osmond says her concert will include the many musical styles that she has embraced - including country, pop and even opera

Singer Marie Osmond to perform at Bergen PAC

No injuries were reported when a Boeing 787 clipped the wings of an Orlando-bound United Airlines flight at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Boeing was being tugged to a different location when it clipped the left wing of the United flight while it was parked at its gate.

A few passengers posted pictures of the incident on Twitter, including Jersey City resident Tom Zuppa. Zuppa tells News 12 that the passengers deplaned normally and were booked on a different flight to Florida.

“Everyone had to have felt the thud and the collision. It was like a fender-bender feeling,” Zuppa says. “The flight crew was fantastic, so I have to say United really handled the situation well…They compensated the passengers so there's really nothing bad to say about the flight crew or the airline.”

This incident comes just two weeks after two incidents at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It was on Jan. 13 that Delta Airline pilots scrambled to brake when they were told an American Airlines jet had crossed into their path, narrowly avoiding a major disaster. The other incident happened as a JetBlue plane bumped into an unoccupied plane as it pushed back from the gate. There weren’t any injuries in either case.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident at Newark Liberty.

Passengers on the parked plane were deplaned normally and booked onto rescheduled flights on a different aircraft, according to United. 

United aircraft clips plane parked at Liberty Newark Int'l Airport gate; no injuries

A 15-year-old Newark boy accused of stealing two luxury cars from a Montclair home in December has been linked to 21 other car thefts throughout New Jersey and New York, according to police.

Montclair police say that the teen, who was not identified due to his age, teamed with another juvenile to break into a home on Club Way along the Cedar Grove border. The incident happened on Dec. 5.

The pair allegedly broke in through an unlocked side door and found the keys to a 2018 Ferrari Spider as well as a 2021 Lamborghini Urus. Authorities say the pair then drove off with the vehicles.

RELATED:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/montclair-homeowner-who-had-luxury-cars-stolen-says-he-believes-he-was">Montclair homeowner who had luxury cars stolen says he believes he was targeted</a>

RELATED:&nbsp;<a href="https://newjersey.news12.com/police-thieves-steal-2-cars-from-montclair-home-each-worth-more-than-usd350k">Thieves steal 2 cars from Montclair home each worth more than $350K, police say</a>

Police say that the 15-year-old was eventually identified as a suspect and was arrested by the Elizabeth Police Department after being involved in a robbery in Nassau County, New York. Officials say that a handgun was found during the arrest.

Montclair police say that the investigation led them to link the teen to 21 other crimes across 16 different police agencies.

The 15-year-old was charged with burglary, criminal mischief, conspiracy and receiving stolen property. He is in the custody of the Essex County Youth House.

The second juvenile involved in the case is still on the loose, according to police.

The 15-year-old and another juvenile are accused of breaking into a Montclair home on Dec. 5.

Police: Teen accused of stealing cars from Montclair home linked to 21 other thefts

The person who shot and killed a Sayreville council member outside her apartment Wednesday night is still on the loose, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

Eunice Dwumfour, 30, was shot multiple times outside of her apartment complex. Officials say that a man was seen shooting Dwumfour and then running away and jumping a fence.

Dwumfour’s closest relatives live at the Zion Towers in Newark. It was there that News 12 met Amos Martey, who has known the family for years.

“It breaks my heart. I was sick about it all of yesterday. I’ve been crying within me,” Martey says.

Like Dwumfour and her family, Martey is originally from Ghana. He says the Dwumfour family is in the process of preparing for her funeral. He says that Dwumfour would have had a bright future in politics. He says that he saw her making her way to Congress one day.

RELATED:&nbsp;Sayreville community in shock over shooting death of council member

“I may be wrong, but I believe it may be something related to her job,” Martney says.

Dwumfour had a few jobs. Along with working on the Sayreville council, she also was a business analyst and worked very closely with her church in Newark. She was the director of churches for the Nigerian-based church Champions Royal Assembly, which is located on Broad Street in Newark.

News 12 tried to speak to someone from the church but did not hear back.

Dwumfour’s neighbors in Sayreville say that they heard about eight gunshots around 7:30 p.m. on the night she was killed. The suspect was last seen heading toward the Garden State Parkway on foot.

Dwumfour was recently married. Her husband is in Nigeria. She leaves behind a daughter.

A candlelight vigil is expected to be held next week in her honor.

Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is urged to call the Sayreville Police Department at 732-727-4444 or the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3477.

Police: Suspect involved in deadly shooting of Sayreville council member remains at large

NEW YORK (AP) — An owl at the Central Park Zoo flew the coop after someone vandalized its exhibit by cutting through stainless steel mesh, zoo officials said Friday.

The Eurasian eagle-owl named Flaco was discovered missing at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and remained on the loose Friday, zoo spokesperson Max Pulsinelli said.

New York Police Department officers&nbsp;tried to catch the bird&nbsp;after it was spotted on Fifth Avenue Thursday night, but it flew off.

The owl returned to Central Park at sunrise Friday and spent the day high up&nbsp;in a tree&nbsp;there.

“Our focus and effort at this time is on the safe recovery of the owl,” zoo officials said in a news release. “We will issue updates as needed.”

Eurasian eagle-owls are one of the larger owl species with a wingspan greater than 6 feet (180 centimeters), and have mottled brown and black feathers with distinctive ear tufts. They are not native to North America.

This one might do fine in Central Park — if it knew how to hunt, said David Barrett, an avid birder who chronicles the city’s avian population via Twitter accounts including Manhattan Bird Alert and Brooklyn Bird Alert.

After years of captivity, however, “this owl has surely lost its skills for hunting,” Barrett said. He estimated that the owl would starve after a day or two in the wild.

The vandalism at the New York City zoo occurred after a string of animal disappearances and other odd incidents across the country, including at the&nbsp;Dallas Zoo.