A 24-year-old reporter in Missouri has died after she was struck by a stray bullet that flew through her apartment window, her colleagues said.
Aviva Okeson-Haberman, a journalist at public radio station KCUR, was hit by a bullet that flew through the window of her first-floor apartment Friday afternoon in Kansas City, news station KMBC reported.
When she failed to respond to messages Friday, a colleague went to check on her, KCUR reported.
Police said they responded to the scene and brought an individual to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Authorities were unable to confirm the victim’s identity as of Sunday because they were still on life support at the time.
But Okeson-Haberman’s colleagues broke the news of her death in a tribute that remembered her as “brilliant.”
“Even as an intern, her approach to storytelling and her ability to hold those in power accountable paralleled many a veteran reporter,” KCUR news director Lisa Rodriguez said in the station’s story.
Okeson-Haberman had been reporting on Missouri government and politics for the station, but was planning a move to Lawrence, Kansas, for a new gig covering criminal justice issues for the Kansas News Service.
Hours before the slaying, Okeson-Haberman had been looking at apartments in Lawrence, KCUR reported.
Police have launched an investigation into the fatal shooting and asked anyone with information to come forward, the outlets reported.