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Indiana mother kidnapped in front of kids, shot dead in SUV

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Fort Wayne Police have asked for additional security camera video that could help identify the suspect in the fatal shooting of a mother Saturday.

It was just after 5:15 p.m. when police and medics were called to the 5600 block of Standish Drive near Fairfax Avenue on reports of a shooting. They arrived to find a woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.


Fort Wayne Police investigate a fatal shooting on Standish Drive on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022.

The Allen County Coroner’s Office confirmed Monday that the victim was Maria Del Scorro Maldonado Ambriz, 39, of Fort Wayne. The cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds. Her death has also been ruled as a homicide.

Police said Monday that Ambriz had been “kidnapped from her home and murdered in her vehicle.”

Ambriz was home with her two children – 12 and 14 – when a suspect, dressed in all black and wearing a backpack and armed with a short-barreled rifle, forced his way into their Standish Drive home.

Inside, police said the suspect threatened to kill the woman and the children. He then kidnapped the woman and forced her to drive him away in her SUV, police said.

He then fired some 30 rounds in the vehicle, killing Ambriz, police said. They were four blocks from her home.

Police said the suspect then ran westbound from Standish Drive in the 2100 block Fairfax Avenue.

Now, police are looking for the public’s help to find him.

“For those who live in this area, please review any security cameras you may have installed on your property for a suspect dressed in all black running with a rifle and black backpack,” police said. A video shared by police showed the suspect.

Anyone with any information that could help identify and locate the suspect is asked to call 427-1201 or CrimeStoppers at 436-STOP or use the P3 App.

It’s not known if the suspect knew Ambriz.