Bakery Owner Kidnapped In Front Of Kids By Masked Gunman Who Then Shot Her To Death In SUV

An Indiana bakery owner was kidnapped in front of her children before she was found shot to death in her SUV short time later just a few blocks away.

A masked man dressed in black reportedly burst into the Fort Wayne home of Maria Del Scorro Maldonado Ambriz, 39, on Saturday evening carrying a short-barreled rifle and a backpack, the Fort Wayne Police said in a press release. He threatened to kill Ambriz, who owned Jenny’s Bakery Panaderia, and her two children — a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl — who were present, before forcing the mother into her own SUV, local outlet WANE reports.  

Four blocks away, the suspect fired 30 rounds into Ambriz’s SUV before fleeing on foot. Multiple bullets struck Ambriz, who was pronounced dead at the scene. A spokesperson for the Allen County Coroner’s Office reports told Oxygen.com over email on Wednesday that she died of homicide via "multiple gunshot wounds." 

The suspect is still at large. Police shared video footage of him fleeing the scene, carrying a gun while running. 

“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,” they urge the public.

Meanwhile, the community is reeling from the murder.

“It’s one of those crimes that are shocking and definitely traumatic for the community and the kids, especially the kids and the family,” Fort Wayne Police Department Public Information Officer Jeremy Webb told WANE. ”It’s something that we’re working our best to bring a solution to try and solve. Sometimes you’ll talk to a witness and you’ll get a little bit of information and you’ll put those pieces together and that leads you to someplace else so you’re just following the chain of evidence to find out who this person is.”

Anyone with information is urged to call 260-427-1201 or Crimestoppers at 260-436-STOP or use the P3 App.