Crime & Safety

St. Pete Mother Of 5 Killed By Stray Bullet

St. Petersburg Police have made an arrest in the shooting of a bystander in the Twin Brooks neighborhood.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- It was Sunday morning and Aesah Kendrick, a 38-year-old mother of five children, had escaped her house full of rambunctious kids to enjoy a quiet breakfast on the front porch of her Twin Brooks home.

It would be her last meal.

Shortly after 10 a.m., police say Jamel Walker, 29, shot at a passing pickup truck in the 2000 block of 45st Street South.

Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

He missed the truck driver. Instead, the bullet struck Kendrick. She was rushed to the hospital where she died. Her father, Paul Lucas Jr., said she was looking forward to starting a new job on Monday. Now he's grappling with how to raise her five children, ages 1 to 17.

By Sunday afternoon, St. Pete Police detectives identified Walker as the shooter. He was charged with second-degree murder and attempted murder.

Find out what's happening in St. Petefor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Image St. Pete Police, Paul Lucas Jr.

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