The victim, Dustin Friedland, 30, wasn't protecting his luxury SUV, says a source close to the investigation — but his beloved wife Jamie, already in the car. One thug had come close to her and ordered her out, but 'she got a look at him,' says the source.
The Hoboken lawyer killed by carjackers at an upscale New Jersey mall gave up his life — to protect his wife.
Dustin Friedland had just let his beloved Jamie into their luxury SUV and was walking around to the driver’s side when he was ambushed by two crooks who demanded the keys, a source close to the investigation told The Daily News.
“He knew his wife was in there and he refused,” the source said Monday.
Instead, the brave lawyer resisted and in the struggle four shots were fired, one of which mortally wounded Friedland, police said.
“Then one of them comes to her door and says, ‘Get out of the car’,” the source said. “She got a look at him.”
Friedland died later Sunday night with his heartbroken wife by his side.
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Dustin Friedland had just let his beloved Jamie into their luxury SUV and was walking around to the driver’s side when he was ambushed by two crooks who demanded the keys, a source close to the investigation told The Daily News.
“He knew his wife was in there and he refused,” the source said Monday.
Instead, the brave lawyer resisted and in the struggle four shots were fired, one of which mortally wounded Friedland, police said.
“Then one of them comes to her door and says, ‘Get out of the car’,” the source said. “She got a look at him.”
Friedland died later Sunday night with his heartbroken wife by his side.
His 2012 Range Rover, which is worth at least $70,000, was found Monday in the back of an abandoned Newark house, police said.
Heartbroken relatives described the 30-year-old Friedland as a sensible man who would avoided violence if at all possible.
But Jamie Friedland’s boss at the Manhattan law firm where she works as an attorney said he would have fought like a lion for her.
“Dustin was rational, intelligent and had great judgment,” said Adam Leitman Bailey. “I highly doubt that he fought the attackers to save his car. I do believe he would fight for his wife’s life.”
Bailey said the young couple had been planning to start their own family.
“She would just light up when he would walk in the room,” he said. “She was so happy to be married.”
The Adam Leitman Bailey law firm has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
“What happened is unconscionable,” said Bailey. “Everybody is crying.”
Investigators suspect Friedland was targeted at The Mall at Short Hills by members of a carjacking ring who were after his silver-colored SUV.
The suspects were spotted scoping out potential targets while cruising
through the parking lot in a green Subaru shortly before they attacked
Friedland around 9 p.m. Sunday, officials said.
"We’re leaving all options open at this time,” said Katherine Carter of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, when asked about the reported ring. “We haven't eliminated anything at this juncture.”
In Hoboken, Yiba Diez, a waitress at Zafra restaurant, mourned the handsome young couple that regularly came by for brunch with pals on the weekends.
“He would come in early with his wife,” Diez, 40, said. “They were always happy, very happy together. Especially him, he was very friendly."
Diez said they were stunned when they heard what happened to one of their favorite customers.
Heartbroken relatives described the 30-year-old Friedland as a sensible man who would avoided violence if at all possible.
But Jamie Friedland’s boss at the Manhattan law firm where she works as an attorney said he would have fought like a lion for her.
“Dustin was rational, intelligent and had great judgment,” said Adam Leitman Bailey. “I highly doubt that he fought the attackers to save his car. I do believe he would fight for his wife’s life.”
Bailey said the young couple had been planning to start their own family.
“She would just light up when he would walk in the room,” he said. “She was so happy to be married.”
The Adam Leitman Bailey law firm has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible.
“What happened is unconscionable,” said Bailey. “Everybody is crying.”
Investigators suspect Friedland was targeted at The Mall at Short Hills by members of a carjacking ring who were after his silver-colored SUV.
"We’re leaving all options open at this time,” said Katherine Carter of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, when asked about the reported ring. “We haven't eliminated anything at this juncture.”
In Hoboken, Yiba Diez, a waitress at Zafra restaurant, mourned the handsome young couple that regularly came by for brunch with pals on the weekends.
“He would come in early with his wife,” Diez, 40, said. “They were always happy, very happy together. Especially him, he was very friendly."
Diez said they were stunned when they heard what happened to one of their favorite customers.
“We were like, ‘Oh my God, no way’,” she said. “Very sad.”
Reached in Michigan, Friedland’s uncle said the killers didn’t need to shoot his nephew.
“I hope they catch and kill him,” he said. “I’m not a violent person, but this criminal doesn’t deserve to breathe.”
Friedland's parents live in Toms River, N.J., and their neighbors seconded the grieving uncle.
“Dustin would have given them the car,” one woman, who asked not to be identified, told the Newark Star-Ledger newspaper. “Dustin was sweet, kind, gentle, giving. I just can't believe God took him away so soon. He didn't deserve it."
Reached in Michigan, Friedland’s uncle said the killers didn’t need to shoot his nephew.
“I hope they catch and kill him,” he said. “I’m not a violent person, but this criminal doesn’t deserve to breathe.”
Friedland's parents live in Toms River, N.J., and their neighbors seconded the grieving uncle.
“Dustin would have given them the car,” one woman, who asked not to be identified, told the Newark Star-Ledger newspaper. “Dustin was sweet, kind, gentle, giving. I just can't believe God took him away so soon. He didn't deserve it."
Both Friedland and his wife were graduates of Syracuse University's law
program, Bailey said. The slain man also had an engineering degree from
Bucknell University.
Of late, Friedland was working as a project manager at Epic Mechanical, a firm based in Neptune, N.J., that "analyzed construction-related legal claims," according to his LinkedIn profile.
A woman who answered the phone at Epic declined to comment.
Meanwhile, police were asking for the public’s help in identifying the carjackers, who vanished after dumping the SUV.
Of late, Friedland was working as a project manager at Epic Mechanical, a firm based in Neptune, N.J., that "analyzed construction-related legal claims," according to his LinkedIn profile.
A woman who answered the phone at Epic declined to comment.
Meanwhile, police were asking for the public’s help in identifying the carjackers, who vanished after dumping the SUV.
The Range Rover has been impounded and crime investigators were looking
for physical evidence that could help identify the culprits.
"We do not know why that car (was targeted), but it obviously was a car with some value," Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said earlier.
The mall, which includes high-end stores like Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, usually closes at 6 p.m. on Sundays. But it was open later for holiday shoppers.
Workers arriving for their shifts said they were frightened.
"I hope the mall will take extra precautions and add security,” said an employee at Stuart Weitzman who declined to provide her name. “I’m not sure what the mall can do but it doesn’t feel so safe — especially after last night.”
The area where Friedland was gunned down continued to be cordoned off by police.
Mall officials declined to comment on the deadly shooting or on what safety measures they have taken in its aftermath. But this is not the first time the shopping mecca has been hit by carjackers:
- In 2009, a 56-year-old woman was carjacked by a knife-wielding Hillside man who forced his way into a car and demanded her dough.
- Back in 2006, a gun-toting crook robbed two women outside of a mall restaurant of their 2004 Jeep Liberty.
- And in 2002, a carjacker made off with a 76-year-old woman’s Cadillac from the parking lot near the Saks Fifth Avenue store.
Last month, the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., was terrorized by a troubled pizza deliveryman with a death wish who killed himself with a high-powered rifle before cops closed in.
"We do not know why that car (was targeted), but it obviously was a car with some value," Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said earlier.
The mall, which includes high-end stores like Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue, usually closes at 6 p.m. on Sundays. But it was open later for holiday shoppers.
Workers arriving for their shifts said they were frightened.
"I hope the mall will take extra precautions and add security,” said an employee at Stuart Weitzman who declined to provide her name. “I’m not sure what the mall can do but it doesn’t feel so safe — especially after last night.”
The area where Friedland was gunned down continued to be cordoned off by police.
Mall officials declined to comment on the deadly shooting or on what safety measures they have taken in its aftermath. But this is not the first time the shopping mecca has been hit by carjackers:
- In 2009, a 56-year-old woman was carjacked by a knife-wielding Hillside man who forced his way into a car and demanded her dough.
- Back in 2006, a gun-toting crook robbed two women outside of a mall restaurant of their 2004 Jeep Liberty.
- And in 2002, a carjacker made off with a 76-year-old woman’s Cadillac from the parking lot near the Saks Fifth Avenue store.
Last month, the Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., was terrorized by a troubled pizza deliveryman with a death wish who killed himself with a high-powered rifle before cops closed in.
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