LEESBURG, Fla. — Leesburg police are searching for the person who shot and killed a woman in her home in the 1200 block of Penn Street Monday morning.
Police responded to a suspicious incident around 2:30 a.m. after receiving a call from friends that they believed their 37-year-old friend could be dead.
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READ: One person shot along Old Cheney Highway east of Colonial Drive in Orange County
When officers arrived at the home, they found a black female lying on the ground of the laundry room, deceased from a gunshot wound.
Police have identified the victim as 37-year-old Melissa Smith. Her mother told Channel 9 off-camera that she was sleeping in her bedroom in the back of the house and didn’t hear any shots.
She said she was awakened by a knock on the door by one of Melissa’s friends who was looking for her but couldn’t reach her. That’s when she saw her daughter slumped over in the utility room, not moving.
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