Eunice K. Dwumfour, a 30-year-old councilwoman serving her first term in Sayreville, N.J., was fatally shot on Wednesday, officials said.
Victoria Kilpatrick, the mayor of Sayreville, confirmed that Ms. Dwumfour was killed, saying in a statement that “the fact that she was taken from us by a despicable criminal act makes this incident all the more horrifying.”
Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey said he was “stunned” by the “act of gun violence,” adding that Ms. Dwumfour “had already built a reputation as a committed member of the Borough Council who took her responsibility with the utmost diligence and seriousness.”
The circumstances of the shooting were not immediately clear, but the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office said a woman, whom it did not identify, was found in her car at around 7:22 p.m. with multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The authorities have not said whether there is a suspect in the crime and have not offered any information about a possible motive.
Sayreville, with a population of about 45,000 people, is in Middlesex County, about 30 miles south of New York City.
Ms. Dwumfour was elected to the Sayreville Borough Council in 2021 after she and another Republican candidate, Christian Onuoha, unseated two Democratic incumbents on the six-person council. She was serving a three-year term.
In a statement about her campaign on the Sayreville Republican Party’s website, Ms. Dwumfour said she loved and cherished Sayreville and wanted to help improve the lives of its residents. “I am fully dedicated to building a better, stronger Sayreville, and with your support, we can create a brighter future for our wonderful town,” she said.
Ms. Dwumfour, who graduated from Newark Public Schools, was a business analyst and a professional scrum master, a type of project manager, with background work in both Maryland and Virginia, according to her LinkedIn profile. In 2017, she received a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from William Paterson University of New Jersey.
Karen Bailey Bebert, the Sayreville Republican chair who was Ms. Dwumfour’s campaign manager, said in an interview on Thursday that the councilwoman was an “inspirational woman” who was excited to get into politics at a young age. She overcame challenges “with grit and a smile,” she said.
Ms. Dwumfour, who had a daughter, “took on the challenge of this leadership position at a young age and she set a great example for others to follow: If you can see me, you can be me,” Ms. Bebert said.
Tracey Tully and Derrick Bryson Taylor contributed reporting.