A longtime Walmart employee was shot and killed in the store's parking lot in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, minutes after finishing her shift late on Wednesday, October 21, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and Cheltenham Township Police said.
Source: Montgomery County District Attorney's Office via Willow Grove Now
District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and Cheltenham Police Chief Richard Schaffer identified the victim as Latosha Ann Cooper, 45. Police were dispatched to the Walmart parking lot on Easton Road at about 11:24 p.m. on October 21, authorities said.
Investigators said Cooper had just finished her shift and was standing near her vehicle when a masked gunman shot her. Local television reporting cited by area outlets said she was found beside a white Nissan and that at least one bullet hole could be seen in the car's rear door.
Source: 6abc via Glenside Local
Cooper had worked at the Cheltenham store for 22 years, most recently as a stocking coach, according to reporting based on her profile and family accounts. The store, in the Cedarbrook Plaza area of the township's Wyncote-Glenside section about 12 miles north of Philadelphia, stayed closed the following day as police investigated.
Authorities have not released information about a possible suspect beyond the masked description, and they say the motive remains unclear. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday morning, October 22, and prosecutors are treating the case as a homicide.
Source: Particle News summary of Inquirer and CBS Philadelphia reporting
Anyone with information is asked to contact Montgomery County Detectives at 610-278-3368 or Cheltenham Township Police at 215-885-1600, extension 499. Anonymous tips can be submitted through the Cheltenham Police number at extension 777, authorities said.