Gary leaders are asking for the public's help, in finding who's responsible for a shooting that killed a 42-year-old mother of six.
Police Chief Derrick Cannon says it happened just after 8:00 p.m. Friday, as officers were investigating a report of a disturbance at the McDonald's at 5th and Grant. "While officers were on scene speaking with people, shots rang out, and that caused people, including the officers, to take cover," Cannon said during a press conference Monday.
Meanwhile, a vehicle driving eastbound left 5th Avenue and crashed into a tree. When first responders got to the driver, Kia Tidwell, they reportedly discovered that she'd suffered a fatal gunshot wound.
Cannon said officers have spent hours canvassing the area, collecting evidence and reviewing footage. "There were multiple people there that witnessed this incident, and we are asking the public to respond to this senseless and terrible act," Cannon said.
During Monday's press conference, Tidwell's family remembered her as an "awesome mother," who never missed one of her children's sporting events.
Kia's oldest brother Jamuel Tidwell Sr. called her the "life of the party" and a "woman of God." "She seen this homeless lady sitting, shivering on a bench, and she took off her brand new jacket she had just got and hour before and gave it to her," he said. "She was an all-around person you just love."
Kia's mother, Charlotte Tidwell, said Kia had just left her house on her way to her own home in Portage, when the shooting happened. She said one of Kia's daughters asked her to check on her, after she heard the incident while she was on the phone with Kia.
"When I saw a truck, I went up and opened it, and one of the officers said it was a crime scene," Charlotte Tidwell recalled. "I'm thinking, 'An accident — can't be a crime scene.'"
Now, Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter is calling on anyone with information to speak up. "We know for a fact that several people know who did the shooting — several," Carter said. "And we're asking them to come forward, work with us, work with our investigators, so we could bring some sense of justice."
Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called on residents to stand together in the face of adversity and care for one another. "We will not allow violence to determine who we are, and to define who the city is and what it makes us to be," Melton said. "This crime is a reminder of the work we must do together to make Gary a safer place for everyone."
Tidwell's mother Charlotte vowed not to let her daughter's death be the end, but a beginning. "I want to take it downstate and say what we need here," she said. "We need a whole lot of stuff. We need more police officers. We need cameras. We just need so much."
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Roger Escutia at 219-755-3855 or send an anonymous text message to 219-207-TIPS (8477).
