A Missouri mother of five was shot and killed while stopping for slushies with two of her young children, after gunfire broke out outside a gas station and left police searching for the person responsible.
Shakeela Martin, 35, died shortly before midnight Tuesday outside a BP station near South Florissant and Woodstock roads in Ferguson, where an argument that started inside the store moved into the parking lot, the Ferguson Police Department said.
Martin had gone to the station with her 9-year-old and 6-year-old children to get frozen drinks on a hot summer night when several shots were fired outside, according to police. Detectives believe she was not involved in the dispute and was hit as she returned to her vehicle with the children.
“She was here to purchase some soft drinks for her young kids,” Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle told First Alert 4. “They’re physically unhurt but obviously hurt emotionally. You can only imagine what a child would go through watching their mom being murdered in front of them.”
BP gas station in Ferguson, Missouri; Shakeela Martin. (Google Maps; GoFundMe)
Another person, described by police as an adult man, was also wounded in the shooting and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Authorities have not disclosed whether he was part of the confrontation or may have been the intended target.
A Google Earth view shows the BP gas station at South Florissant and Woodstock roads in Ferguson, Missouri, where authorities say 35-year-old Shakeela Martin, a mother of five, was killed while buying slushies with two of her children. Police are still looking for the gunman. (Google Maps)
Police said the incident began as a dispute inside the convenience store before escalating outside, where gunfire erupted. No arrests have been reported, and investigators continue to work the case.
Martin leaves behind five children and a grieving family that says she was on the verge of beginning a new chapter in life.
According to a GoFundMe campaign, Martin was preparing to move her family into a new home the day after she was killed. To celebrate, she had taken her children to the BP station for slushies before the family’s plans were shattered by gunfire.
It is unclear what led to the shooting. (Stephen M. Katz/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“Our hearts are shattered as we mourn the unimaginable loss of our beloved Shakeela Martin, who was taken from us far too soon at just 35 years old,” the fundraiser states.
The campaign describes Martin as “a devoted mother to five beautiful children who were the center of her world” and says she did not have life insurance. Organizers said donations will help cover funeral and burial expenses, with any additional funds going toward the immediate needs of her children.
“We will forever cherish Shakeela’s memory and the love she gave so freely to everyone around her,” the fundraiser site says.
The Ferguson Police Department is asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact investigators at 314-522-3100 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-TIPS.
