During the Jan. 21 episode of “Dateline NBC,” FBI Special Agent Joe Denahan will open up for the first time in an exclusive interview about the deadly shooting at U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas’ home in North Brunswick last year, which killed her son Daniel and critically injured her husband Mark.
The 10 p.m. airing also features an interview with Salas.
During the one-hour broadcast, Denahan tells NBC News’ Andrea Canning that Daniel and Mark “put up a strong enough defense of their home,” preventing the shooter, Roy Den Hollander, “from coming forward.” He explains, “Whether it was their body posture, the way they angled the door, the attitude they portrayed, whatever it was, Hollander must have felt that way. And that’s why he fired immediately and then fled.”
Additionally, Salas tells Canning, “I asked the agents, ‘Why do you think he didn’t come into the house to come finish?’ I was his target. And the agent’s line, which will stay with me forever, is that, ‘He was met by superior forces.’ My son and his father.”
Salas’ son Daniel Anderl was shot to death by Hollander on July 19 after Hollander dressed as a delivery worker and rang the Salas’ front door. Hollander then critically injured Salas’ husband Mark, but left before attacking Salas, his original target. It is believed Hollander was an anti-feminist lawyer who had a hateful manifesto against Salas.
To watch the exchange, visit www.nbcnews.com/dateline/video/dateline-nbc-exclusive-lead-fbi-investigator-in-murder-of-judge-salas-son-speaks-out-99681349846