Federal Judge Esther Salas speaks about Daniel’s Law – RADIO.COM

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (WCBS 880) — Months after a disgruntled attorney killed her 20-year-old son and gravely wounded her husband in a shooting at their New Jersey home, a federal judge is on a mission to make sure no one else goes through the same pain and horror.

On July 19, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas’ son, Daniel Anderl, was fatally shot and her husband, criminal defense attorney and former Essex County prosecutor Mark Anderl, was severely wounded in a shooting at their New Brunswick home by a gunman who was targeting her.

Authorities said 72-year-old Roy Den Hollander, a self-described anti-feminist who frequently argued on behalf of men’s rights activists, posed as a delivery driver to gain access to the home and opened fire on the family.

When the doorbell rang, Salas said she and her son were together in the basement.

Daniel went barreling up the stairs to see who was at the door before she could stop him.

“It was within seconds that I heard these booming noises, now I know to be gunshots, and I heard my husband scream and I remember screaming, ‘What is happening?’” Salas said. “I ran up the stairs and what I saw, no mother should see.”

Her son had been shot in the chest and killed while protecting her husband.

The gunman, who was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, had come to the home looking for her.

He was also suspected in the killing of an attorney in California.

Salas said her family was very careful pre-pandemic, oftentimes peeking out the bay window to see who was at the front door and only opening packages that they knew came from a trusted source, but let their guard down once the COVID-19 crisis hit.

“I think the game changer was COVID-19. I think we became desensitized in a lot of ways to packages coming to the door, people leaving things at the door that weren’t necessarily in uniform, my son was ordering a lot of takeout food,” Salas said. “I think our defenses were lowered and especially during this time. It was a Sunday, it was a beautiful great weekend and we never could have imagined something like this happening.”

Now Salas is on a mission to get Congress to pass Daniel’s Law, which will enable judges to keep their addresses and other personal identifiable information private and out of public view.

The FBI determined the gunman compiled detailed information on Salas off the internet, including her home address, the church the family attends, routes to work and even the name of her best friend.

Daniel’s Law would keep that type of information on judges off the internet.

“It’s something I feel I have to do. It’s almost as if it’s a mission. I cannot sit by and allow people to be in danger without trying to do something and I cannot sit back and not speak about this tragedy because for me, if I speak about it, maybe something will happen,” Salas said.
“Maybe something will be done to protect, as I’ve called them, my brothers and sisters on the bench. This can’t happen to anyone else. What my husband I are going through, it’s sheer hell.”

Daniel’s Law would be her son’s legacy.

“I really do believe symbolically that my son not only gave his life for his father and I, but he really gave his life for all judges and I feel symbolically that he is protecting and trying to protect all judges and I hope no one forgets my son,” Salas said.

New Jersey has already passed a version of Daniel’s Law.

The bill is pending in the U.S. Senate and has bipartisan support. It’s also been endorsed by the judiciary.

She is urging Congress to take immediate action on the bill.

“We must act now to avoid further bloodshed,” Salas said. “Any type of delay, anything that stands in the way of this bill is, in my opinion, another day that we are allowing there to be a threat against the judiciary that is going to come with a price. If my son’s life isn’t already an example of what could happen, every day we let this go by, it’s like a ticking time bomb. We must do something, we must do it now.”

Meanwhile, as Salas continues her fight, she and her husband are getting ready to mark their first Christmas without their only child.

“I debated whether I was going to decorate at all or do anything, but I know that’s not what Daniel would want,” Salas said. “So Mark and I decided that we were going to put a tree and we decorated it in his honor so he is the main theme. It’s beautiful and I know he’s happy that we did it. Christmas was important to us as a family, so we’re going to do our best to keep it together, but it’s hard.”

They also try to focus on the good days, when they come, particularly when it comes to her husband’s continued recovery.

Since the shooting, he underwent more than a dozen surgeries.

After recently suffering a medical setback, they received news that he would not require another surgery that had been scheduled for Dec.
3 to treat an abscess.

Doctors also removed a drain to his liver and Salas said her husband is walking around for the first time in almost five months without a PICC line.

“Today is a good day and today we are thankful for the blessings that we have in that he is continuing to show promise and progress and we’re blessed,” Salas said.