Stray bullet kills mother of 6 in Uniontown; sister calls for shooter to come forward

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — A mother of six children, ages 2 to 17, was struck and killed by a stray bullet Friday night in Uniontown, police said.

Gunshots broke out about 10 p.m. on Farragut Street. Jacqueline Carey, 36, was at her sister’s home with friends at the time and was shot when she went to a window and pulled back the sheet covering it, Uniontown police Lt. Tom Kolencik said.

“They indicated they didn't know they were gunshots at the time. They say they heard like a tapping,” Kolencik said.

According to Kolencik, there wasn’t any blood and at first Carey’s sister thought that Carey had passed out.

“I was like smacking her and I was like, ‘Jackie, please get up. Get up.’ I started smacking her and I felt for a pulse and she was gone,” Ariel Carey, Jacqueline Carey’s sister, said.

First responders found Jacqueline Carey on the kitchen floor and began administering CPR. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead with a gunshot wound to her upper chest.

Ariel Carey had moved into the home only three days prior. She told Channel 11’s Mike Holden that she can’t look out her kitchen window without being reminded of her sister, who she said was everyone’s best friend and a great mother.

“It's devastating. It's sickening. Like, she had six babies,” Ariel Carey said. “I still can't accept it. I can't accept it. It doesn't seem real to me.”

The gathering at the home Friday night was to honor the sisters’ late father.

Police said there was an argument between two people at the home and they were asked to leave before the shooting. Police do not believe Jacqueline Carey was an intended target, but said it does not appear that the shooting was random.

“Chaos broke out and we had the people leave, and once they left, not even seconds later, there were gunshots, which we thought was someone smacking something off of my window,” Ariel Carey said.

Investigators said they located several shell casings at the scene and a bullet hole was found in the window frame.

“It was probably more of a scare tactic that went bad, but it's still a homicide,” Kolencik said.

Two persons of interest were detained Saturday and questioned. No arrests have been made.

“I just want whoever did it to come forward. Like, she has six babies. She has six babies. They need justice,” Ariel Carey said.

Jacqueline Carey's family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with her funeral expenses (CLICK HERE).

Cox Media Group