Police seek tips in attempt to solve slaying of Tarentum mother of 2

Kristina Arndt thought somebody suffered a medical emergency when she arrived at her apartment building on Fifth Avenue in Tarentum late Thursday night and saw police cars and ambulances lining the block.

It wasn’t long before she learned they were there because her neighbor and friend had been shot to death in the street outside their building just minutes earlier.

And before the night was over, Arndt would be given custody of the victim’s sons for the night while police searched for the woman’s killer. She said one boy is 4 and the other is 6 months.

“It’s a very frightening thing that’s happened here, and it’s so sad for my friend and her children,” Arndt said. “The police didn’t know she had kids in the apartment until one of the neighbors told them. They got a key to go inside and get the kids, and I offered to watch them if it would make it easier for them.”

Arndt, who also has two young children, said the victim’s family members took custody of the boys Friday morning.

She said she saw a body in the street that had been covered up but didn’t believe neighbors who said it was her friend.

But that changed when she tried to reach the woman.

“I called her phone, but she wasn’t answering,” she said.

Tarentum police Chief William Vakulick said Friday morning that investigators were withholding the identity of the woman until family members could be notified.

The shooting was reported at 11:08 p.m. in the 300 block of Main Street near the intersection of East Fifth Avenue.

Multiple police departments responded to the scene, and the Allegheny County Police Homicide Unit was dispatched to lead the investigation.

County police said first responders found the woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Arndt lives in the Philip Burtner Apartments, as did the victim and her two children.

Mourners put up a small wooden cross on the the spot where the woman was slain.

Investigators have not released any other details about what might have led to the shooting or whether they have identified any suspects.

They are asking anyone with information about the incident to call the police Tip Line at 833-ALL-TIPS (833-255-8477). Callers can remain anonymous.

County homicide detectives still are working to solve a homicide that occurred in the borough on Nov. 22, 2020, when Syncere Lee Spruill, 18, of Arnold was shot to death in the 200 block of Conroy Way.

Investigators believe an argument between two groups led to a gun battle during which 15 shots were fired. An unidentified 19-year-old man also was shot during the incident but survived.