A MOTHER-of-four was shot and killed while withdrawing money from an ATM as harrowing details emerge of the fatal robbery.
Karen Baker, 48, was fatally shot in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday morning in a “random act” of violence, police say.
Law enforcement officials discovered Baker’s body near an ATM inside the parking lot of the University Plaza shopping center.
An unidentified family member confirmed to Fox 46 that Baker was shot while withdrawing money.
Baker’s niece, Cortney Eckhoff, said her aunt was an amazing woman who had a heart of “pure gold”.
“She was a beautiful soul, she was the last person I know that deserved this,” Eckhoff told The Charlotte Observer.
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“She would have given anyone the shirt off her back. And I’m sure she would have given the horrible that shot her anything she had. Because heart was pure gold.”
Baker had three sons, a daughter and three grandchildren, Eckhoff told the outlet.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Major Brian Foley said the shooting appeared to be a “random act”.
“It’s heinous, it is disgusting, and it pains me to have to come up and stand here in front of people and talk about that. But we want to find justice, we want to find people that killed this poor woman,” Foley said on Thursday.
Baker’s son, Will McClure, told the Observer his mother was the victim of a “senseless evil”.
“My mom was one in a million. She was a victim of a senseless evil.”
The mother’s family released a statement about her tragic death on Thursday.
“I’m sorry, but our family has lost the matriarch of our family. Heaven has gained one of the strongest, most loving, caring people you could ever meet,” Baker’s family said.
“She was loved by army’s. She would move mountains for a stranger. She was one in a billion. Her three grandchildren & mother of six we will make sure her spirit will live on through all of us.
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“They took more than one life-they took thousands of lives. We pray justice is served, and we pray for the strength to endure this tragedy.”
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has not named a potential suspect in the shooting.
