ORLANDO, Fla. – A woman who was shot in the head at an Orange County gas station as her child sat in the back seat of her car was taken off life support and died Thursday evening, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.
The woman was identified by the Orange County Sheriff's Office as Kendra La Sheka Lewis, 27. Deputies said it appears that Lewis was an innocent bystander after someone opened fire in the area.
"I feel bad for the daughter. She had to see that," Lewis' neighbor, Joan Roughton, said.
Officials said Lewis was in critical condition after the shooting, which was reported at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Citgo on Pine Hills Road. Lewis was taken off life support Thursday evening. She died a short time later.
Roughton described Lewis as respectful and said she was raising her two children to be the same way.
"They were respectful, too. She had her son one day come out and help me in the yard," Roughton said.
Lewis' family gave News 6 photos of the mother. Friends and family are using #PrayingforKendra on Facebook, sharing pictures and prayers.
Deputies said the child was not hurt and is now with family.
"As you can imagine (with) a young child, (she's ) not knowing exactly what happened, scared of hearing shots, not knowing exactly what's going on with the mother," Deputy Rose Silva said.
"It sounded like six or seven shots, and it went, ‘Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow,’ and I said, ‘Oh, my God,’" said Patricia McDuffie, who lives across the street from the gas station.
McDuffie said she dropped to the ground when she heard the commotion.
"I went out the front door and into the parking lot (and) my granddaughter called the police,” McDuffie said. “Everybody was calling the police."
The gas station is near Evans High School, and the shooting was reported around the time students were released from school. According to the report, a witness told deputies students often fight in the parking lot.
McDuffie said she saw the victim in a blue car with a shattered window. McDuffie wasn’t aware that there was a young child in the back seat.
"My son-in-law -- he went over there and tried to help the girl," McDuffie said.
McDuffie said shootings have been happening more frequently in the area, and she doesn't feel safe walking to the store.
"I pray to God they give Pine Hills some help because we really need it out here,” McDuffie said. “Any time there's a shooting or trouble going on, I dial 911."
Deputies interviewed witnesses and reviewed surveillance video, and said they are looking for at least one person and an SUV that was spotted leaving the scene.
No other details were available.