Rashid Ali Bynum, 28, a resident of Virginia, has been detained on suspicion of killing Eunice Dwumfour, a councilwoman from New Jersey who was shot outside her home in Sayreville in February.
On Tuesday, May 30th, Bynum was apprehended in Chesapeake City, Virginia, and is facing charges of first-degree murder and two firearm-related offenses, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone.
Ciccone expressed her confidence in the judicial system to deliver justice, acknowledging that while the arrest cannot bring back the late councilwoman, it has brought relief to the community. Currently, Bynum is awaiting extradition to New Jersey, where he will be held in the Middlesex County Adult Correctional facility while awaiting trial.
On February 1st, Bynum allegedly fired multiple shots into Dwumfour’s vehicle outside near her house in Sayreville while her 12-year-old daughter was at home. Eyewitnesses reported seeing a man dressed in black fleeing the scene. The investigation took months to reveal potential suspects and a possible motive behind the councilwoman’s murder.
Evidence placing Bynum near the murder scene includes data from his cell phone and his white Hyundai Elantra. Additionally, his physical description matched eyewitness accounts and surveillance footage. Intriguingly, Bynum was found to be a contact in Dwumfour’s phone, identified with the abbreviation “FCF,” referring to “Fire Congress Fellowship,” a church with which Dwumfour was previously connected.
Ciccone added that Bynum had been researching Dwumfour’s church, her place of residence, and had an internet history showing research into handguns and compatible bullets for the handgun. A firearm, suspected to be the weapon used in the fatal shooting, was also discovered in Smithfield, Virginia at a residence that Bynum was known to have returned to following the shooting.
Prosecutor Ciccone has yet to reveal a motive for why Bynum might have targeted the councilwoman at the time of reporting. Dwumfour’s family, who attended Ciccone’s press conference, are at a loss to understand why the newly married pastor, a well-loved figure in her community, would have been targeted.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin assured the councilwoman Dwumfour’s family that every possible lead had been investigated, expressing empathy for their suffering.
