Washington mom shot dead by estranged husband in front of her 3 children at school parking lot before he killed himself
VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON: A woman was fatally shot by her estranged husband in an elementary school parking lot while she was sitting in a minivan with her mother and three young children beside her.
Deputies from the Clark County Sheriff's Office responded to a shooting outside Sarah J Anderson Elementary this past Tuesday, November 26, after the school had been let out for the day, according to Oregon Live. When they arrived at the scene, they transported two women to the hospital with unknown injuries. One of them later died.
The CCSO said after the incident that there was no active threat and that the suspect appeared to have stopped at Padden Parkway and Anderson Road in Vancouver and shot himself.
A GoFundMe page set up to raise donations revealed that the victim was Tiffany Hill, and had been killed by her estranged husband Keland Hill after he was released on bail over charges of domestic violence and abuse.
It said he shot her through the front windshield on the driver's side, and that he also shot her mother three times. Tiffany Hill succumbed to her injuries, while her mother was rushed into surgery and had operations done on both her hands and arms.
Sgt. Brent Waddell with the CCSO confirmed that the shooting was a culmination of an ongoing domestic violence situation, and said there had been a restraining order between the victim and her husband. He also said Keland Hill had been released from jail just a few days before the shooting.
Court documents obtained by the Daily Mail show Keland Hill was arrested on November 7 after sheriff's deputies responding to a call outside a restaurant found a black box with a GPS tracker inside affixed to the fuel tank of Tiffany Hill's car.
While his bail was originally set at $75,000, Deputy Prosecutor Lauren Boyd filed a motion to increase that amount to $2 million and pointed out that a "danger assessment" showed "hat the victim is at extreme risk of being killed by the defendant." The motion also said he had been arrested previously in Maryland and North Carolina for abusing his wife, but the cases had been dismissed.
The bail was ultimately raised to $250,000, though Keland Hill went on to post the amount on November 22, just four days before carrying out the brutal murder.
The GoFundMe page has raised over $68,000 of a possible $100,000 goal at the time of writing. The page states that the three children will be cared for by Hill's sisters, Tabitha and Janice.
"This journey will not be easy, it will be emotionally, physically, mentally and financially draining, but with all the love and support we can try to give these children the best lives we possibly can," the page read. "Prayers will always be appreciated along with your support. Please share and help us get through this difficult time."