A grandmother shot and killed her son’s ex-girlfriend in a horrific ambush before turning the gun on herself in the middle of the day on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
Kathleen Leigh, 65, a retired Chicago probation officer, shot 45-year-old Marisa Galloway Friday morning as she loaded her child into a car.
Police responded to a 911 call from someone who heard three gunshots and saw two women lying on the ground covered in blood.
The shooting happened outside an apartment building on 88th Street, just half a block from Gracie Mansion, the home of the New York City mayor.
Surveillance footage shows Galloway bending over to put her 1-year-old daughter’s car seat in the back of the Honda just before the shooting occurred.
Kathleen Leigh, 65, a retired Chicago probation officer, shot Marisa Galloway, 45, Friday morning as she loaded her child into a car
Leigh walked up to Galloway and shot him twice in the head, once in the head and once in the back, before taking her own life with a shot to the head.
She then put the stroller in the boot and Leigh approached. She shot Galloway twice – once in the head and once in the back – before killing herself with a gunshot wound to the head.
Leigh died at the scene, while Galloway was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny revealed that a custody battle was the cause of the brutal murder-suicide.
The 1-year-old child who was present at the incident was unharmed, police said.
Previous reports incorrectly stated that the child was 4 years old.
Officers found two firearms: a loaded 9mm handgun on the sidewalk near the car and a second weapon in Leigh’s purse.
Leigh died at the scene, while Galloway was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital
The shooting happened outside an apartment building on 88th Street, just half a block from Gracie Mansion, the home of the New York City mayor
Police tape outside fatal shooting over custody dispute
According to police, there are at least five registered NYPD reports of domestic disputes within the family, and two other complaint reports.
“She is a retired Cook County probation officer and has lived in New York City with family members for three years,” Kenny said.
Galloway was a professor and athletic trainer at Fordham University.
The university wrote in a statement following the tragic incident that it was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss… We keep Marissa and her loved ones in our thoughts and prayers.”
No arrests have been made as of Friday afternoon. The NYPD is still investigating the incident.
