An 89-year-old woman killed when a bullet careened into her Bucks County home during a police standoff has been identified.
Marie Zienkewicz was shot once in the chest while she stood inside her apartment at Jefferson on the Creek in Warminster last night, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office confirms to NBC10’s Monique Braxton. It was around 8 p.m. when Zienkewicz’s upstairs neighbor Andrew Cairns allegedly began a shootout with officers, authorities say.
Scared by the firefight, the elderly woman called her daughter, law enforcement sources tell NBC10’s Denise Nakano. The two hung up and when the daughter tried to call back, there was no answer, sources say. The DA’s office says Zienkewicz was at her door when she was shot.
It could be a few days before officials determine whether the bullet that killed Zienkewicz came from police or the alleged gunman’s weapon, the DA's office says.
Forty residents were evacuated from apartment complex at 675 Street Road, police say. No officers or other residents were hurt in the shootout.
Cairns, 49, surrendered to police around 2:30 this morning and charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. He is being held on $10 million bail.
