Woman found fatally shot in University City. Her ‘heart was pure gold,’ niece says.
To Cortney Eckhoff, her aunt, Karen Baker, was an amazing woman who inspired people.
“She ... was a beautiful soul, she was the last person I know that deserved this” Eckhoff told The Charlotte Observer.
Baker, 48, was shot and killed in the University City area early Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said. The city has seen at least 56 homicides this year, data show.
Shortly after 5:48 a.m., officers arrived found Baker with “an apparent gunshot wound” in the 9600 block of University City Boulevard, police said in a news release. Officers tried to save her but could not, Maj. Brian Foley told WSOC.
Baker was found near an ATM, according to a WSOC photographer. The ATM is located in the parking lot of the University Plaza shopping center, Google Maps shows.
Baker was shot while making a withdrawal, Queen City News reported, citing an unidentified family member.
The shooting appears to be a “random act,” Foley said during a CMPD news conference to announce mid-year crime statistics Thursday.
“It’s heinous, it is disgusting, and it pains me to have to come up and stand here in front of people and talk about that. But we want to find justice, we want to find people that killed this poor woman,” Foley said.
“She would have given anyone the shirt off her back,” Eckhoff said. “And I’m sure she would have given the horrible (person) that shot her anything she had, because her heart was pure gold.”
Baker had three sons, a daughter and three grandchildren, Eckhoff said.
Will McClure told the Observer his mother didn’t deserve this.
“My mom was one in a million,” he said. “She was a victim of a senseless evil.”
Anyone with information about the shooting can call 704-432-8477 (TIPS) and speak with a homicide detective. Information also can be left anonymously with Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or charlottecrimestoppers.com.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 12:43 PM.
