Beloved teacher shot dead in Dunkin’ drive-thru with 11-year-old son in car, PA cops say
A 35-year-old mother was fatally shot in a Dunkin’ drive-thru in what Pennsylvania police are calling a “targeted murder.”
Rachel King had her 11-year-old son in the backseat when she was shot multiple times around 7:40 a.m. Tuesday, April 11, in Cheltenham Township, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.
Authorities found King dead in the driver’s seat of her vehicle. Her son was not injured, the district attorney said.
The investigation revealed King had just pulled into the Dunkin’ drive-thru when a man in a light-colored car exited his vehicle and approached King’s, prosecutors said. The man fired multiple shots into the driver’s side window of King’s vehicle, then left in his own car, according to the district attorney.
“This appears to be a targeted murder of a mother,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement. “The ... male did not attempt to open the victim’s vehicle door, nor did he appear to communicate with her prior to shooting her numerous times through her driver’s side window.”
Officers have not captured the shooter as of Wednesday morning. He is described as having a thin build and was wearing light-colored pants and a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, prosecutors said. His vehicle is believed to be either a Ford or a Mercury.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Cheltenham Township Police Department at 215-885-1600.
Cheltenham Township is a northern suburb of Philadelphia.
Rachel King was a beloved teacher
King taught at Grover Cleveland Elementary School in Philadelphia, according to media reports.
“We send our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones,” Mastery Charter Schools said in a statement to KYW. “We are devastated by the loss of an extraordinary teacher, who spent the last 10 years working with our students and their families.”
One of her friends, Charise Jones, called her “one of the best teachers” at the school,” WPVI reported.
King was a graduate of Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania.
“Rachel was one of the most energetic, life-living humans I had ever met,” a friend said in a Facebook post. “We met at Eastern University, shared many laughs and random hilarious moments. Rachel had an Iconic laugh that I will never forget.”
“Rachel King was the light in every room, had the sweetest giggle and the warmest hugs,” Maureen Keyser said on Facebook. “She was always glowing. If you knew her, you know the glow.”
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