Philadelphia

Young Mother Dies After Being Shot in Head, Crashing Onto Germantown Lawn

A 22-year-old mother shot in the head crashed her minivan into the front steps of a home

What to Know

  • A 22-year-old woman was pronounced dead after being shot in the head and crashing her minivan onto a lawn of a Germantown home.
  • Police don't know who shot Acacia Nykira Byrd.

Separate car crash and shooting investigations quickly turned a homicide investigation overnight in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood.

Police officers were called to the area of Price and McMahon streets around 10:50 p.m. Sunday for both reports of gunshots and a crash of a minivan onto the front lawn of a house, Capt. George Fuchs said.

Responding officers scoured the area for evidence of a shooting then found the crashed blue Honda Odyssey with a woman trapped inside, Fuchs said.

Firefighters tore off the minivan doors to get the woman, later identified as Acacia Nykira Byrd, out, investigators said. They later found that Byrd had been shot in the back of the head.

The 22-year-old woman, who lived on nearby Green Street, was pronounced dead at the scene, Fuchs said. She left behind two children, a family friend told NBC10.

It appeared Byrd may have been shot about a half a block away, police said. 

A dark luxury car was seen driving around the area at the time of the shooting, but it is unclear if the driver that vehicle had anything to do with the shooting, which remained under investigation.

A bullet found nearby could help police find the shooter.

No one on the street or in the home was injured.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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