Manhunt underway for gunman dressed as FedEx driver who killed federal judge’s son, wounded husband – NJ.com

A massive manhunt is underway for the gunman who fatally shot the 20-year-old son of a New Jersey federal judge and wounded her husband Sunday at the couple’s home.

The suspect, a description of whom has not been released, is believed to have been dressed as a FedEx delivery driver as he arrived at the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas on Point of Woods Drive in North Brunswick around 5 p.m., law enforcement sources and officials told NJ Advance Media.

Salas was in the basement at the time of the shooting and was not injured, sources said.

Her son, Daniel Anderl, was killed, North Brunswick Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack said. The judge’s husband, defense lawyer Mark Anderl, 63, underwent surgery Sunday evening and is in stable condition at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, according to Womack, who knows the family personally.

“We’re shocked by this horrific and violent act, and @NewJerseyOAG and @NJSP offer our full investigative support to our federal partners,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a Tweet early Monday. “We express our deepest sympathies to Judge Salas and her family, and to all who are grieving in the aftermath of this tragedy.”

Judge Salas, who is based in Newark, was the first Hispanic woman to be appointed to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey.

“Judge Salas and her family are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Sunday night in a Tweet.

Salas, 51, has handled cases involving members of the Grape Street Crips, in connection with a long-running drug-trafficking network that was taken down by the FBI in 2015. She was also the judge who sent Real Housewives stars Joe and Teresa Giudice to prison.

In 2017, she barred federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against an alleged gang leader charged in several Newark slayings, ruling the man’s intellectual disability made him ineligible for capital punishment. Salas later sentenced the man to 45 years in prison.

More recently, Salas has presided over an ongoing lawsuit brought by Deutsche Bank investors who claim the company made false and misleading statements about its anti-money laundering policies and failed to monitor “high-risk” customers including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Salas was nominated by President Obama as a U.S. District Court judge in December 2010. She was confirmed by the Senate in June 2011.

“Our thoughts are with Judge Salas and her family during this unspeakably difficult time. We mourn the loss of her son and pray that her husband has a speedy and full recovery,” said Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex). “We must come together as a community to put an end to senseless gun violence. No family deserves to suffer the loss and heartache the Salas family must now endure.”

An aspiring lawyer, Daniel Anderl was a student at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. He was the couple’s only child.

Mark Anderl served as an assistant prosecutor in Essex County before entering private practice. He met Salas when she was a second-year law school intern.

“I was literally getting fingerprinted” when Mark came over to talk, she told NJ Monthly in a 2018 interview. “We’ve been inseparable since 1992.”

The FBI is the lead agency in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 973-792-3000, option 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com.

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL.