An assailant shot and killed the 20-year-old son of a federal judge and wounded her husband at their home in North Brunswick, N.J., late Sunday.
U.S. District Judge Esther Salas of the New Jersey federal trial court was not injured when a gunman approached her home and attacked her husband Mark Anderl, 63, and son Daniel Anderl. Chief Judge Freda Wolfson confirmed to the Associated Press that the judge's son was killed while her husband was taken to a nearby hospital with grave injuries.
The suspected gunman is Roy Hollander, a "men’s rights" attorney. Hollander apparently committed suicide in upstate New York after attacking the Salas home.
Court records show Hollander was litigating a case before Salas. He appeared as a lawyer for a plaintiff challenging the male-only draft on constitutional grounds. Oral arguments in the case were scheduled for June 25, but the docket shows that they were delayed "due to unforeseen circumstances."
Salas was assigned on July 16 to a class action lawsuit against Deutsche Bank, the scandal-plagued German financial institution, relating to the deceased billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The lawsuit seeks damages for Deutsche Bank securities holders, arguing the bank's failure to effectively police suspect transactions involving Epstein and others adversely affected the value of its securities.
"The Bank failed to properly monitor customers that the Bank itself deemed to be high risk, including, among others, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein," the complaint reads.
"As a direct and proximate result of Defendants' wrongful conduct, Plaintiff and the other members of the Class suffered damages in connection with their respective purchases, acquisitions and sales of the Bank's securities," the lawsuit adds.
The U.S. Marshals Service is responsible for the protection of judicial officers, but federal judges generally do not enjoy full-time security details. The FBI's Newark field office is investigating the attack. The bureau said in a statement that it is searching for "one subject" and asked any member of the public with relevant information to contact FBI Newark.
Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive as of this writing. Francis Womack, the mayor of North Brunswick and a friend of Salas's family, told ABC News the judge occasionally received threats.
Salas has presided over other high-profile matters. The judge sentenced Giuseppe and Teresa Giudice of Real Housewives of New Jersey fame following their convictions for fraud in 2014.
Witnesses said the assailant was dressed as a FedEx deliveryman.
"Our deepest sympathies are with Judge Salas and her family at this time," a FedEx spokesperson told the Washington Free Beacon. "We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation."
President Barack Obama nominated Salas to the federal bench in December 2010. She previously served as a federal magistrate judge and an assistant public defender.
Update 4:21 p.m.: This post has been updated with further information.