Rachel King: Pennsylvania teacher shot dead inside car at Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru in ‘targeted attack’ as son, 11, watches
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA: Rachel King, a Pennsylvania woman was shot dead while she waited in a line outside a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru lane. The authorities have labeled the incident as ‘targeted murder’ which took place on April 11, at around 7.40 am when she was at the Melrose Shopping Center in Cheltenham. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, in its report, stated that the 35-year-old woman was fatally shot in the driver’s seat of a black Ford Edge while her 11-year-old son was sitting in the back seat. However, the child remained unharmed. The car was found in a parking island near the drive-thru lane by the officers who reached the scene after the fatal shooting.
A press release by the DA’s office said, "A Black male exited the sedan and walked up to the driver's side of King's vehicle where he fired numerous shots through the driver's side window, before fleeing back to his vehicle and leaving the scene, driving eastbound on Cheltenham Avenue." An autopsy determined King’s cause of death as multiple gunshots and the manner in which the victim died was a homicide, as per People.
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'We send our deepest condolences to her family'
"This appears to be a targeted murder of a mother. [Suspect] did not attempt to open the victim's vehicle door, nor did he appear to communicate with her before shooting her numerous times through her driver's side window," said District Attorney Kevin R Steele said in the release. Fox29 shared a statement issued by Mastery Charter Schools on King’s untimely death. "This morning, a teacher from Mastery's Grover Cleveland Elementary was the victim of a fatal shooting in Philadelphia. We send our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. We are devastated by the loss of an extraordinary teacher, who spent the last 10 years working with our students and their families."
'Her loss has left a deep void'
As per the victim’s GoFundMe page launched to raise funds for her funeral expenses by her family, "Her loss has left a deep void in the lives of her family, friends, colleagues, and students." She worked as a teacher with Grover Cleveland Elementary School for over a decade, as per the page.
Anyone with information on the vehicle involved in this killing or the suspect is asked to contact the Cheltenham Township Police Department at 215-885-1600 (ext. 400) or Montgomery County Detectives at 610-226-5553. Tips can also be called into the Montco Detective Tip Line at 610-278-DOIT (3648).