© Jordyn Noennig / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
(Cuba) – Convicted cop killer Assata Shakur is dead at the age of 78, having been a fugitive from justice in the US for decades. She died in Havana, Cuba, where she had been harbored for an extended period. Born in New York City, Shakur was on the FBI’s most wanted terrorists list, after escaping from prison in 1979.
A member of the Black Liberation Army (BLA), Shakur shot and killed New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster, with his own service weapon. Foerster had stopped to back up a fellow trooper during a stop on the New Jersey Turnpike. That was back in 1973, with Shakur having been convicted of his murder several years later. Upon escaping from prison she fled to Cuba.
In May, marking the 52nd anniversary of Trooper Foerster’s death, Governor Phil Murphy released a statement. He was a Vietnam War veteran when he was brutally gunned down. Foerster left behind a widow, Rosie, and son, Eric.
Shakur was the godmother of noted American rapper Tupac Shakur. A New York City native, she changed her name from Joanne Chesimard during her time as a radical activist.
