The victim was transported to West Chester Hospital and remains hospitalized with what is believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Within hours, using clues from the suspect’s cell phone left at the scene, police had identified a suspect who fled the scene after the shooting.
Courtney Montgomery, 33, of Cincinnati, was arrested at about 9:30 p.m. in Cincinnati and charged with aggravated robbery in addition to felonious assault for the incident at The Highlands of West Chester apartment complex.
“Times like this are difficult in any neighborhood,” West Chest Police Chief Joel Herzog said Thursday. “These type of terrible incidents can happen to us and can happen anywhere.”
Herzog said the investigation is ongoing and detectives are trying to determine motive, why the suspect was in the residence and if anyone at the residence knew him.
A 22-year-old woman who called 911 said she and the victim did not “really know” who the person was who fired the shot. But she said he was gone from the residence.
“He left in a car but we have his phone,” the caller told dispatchers.
She also indicated in the call that the suspect had the wrong apartment and someone tried to wrestle the gun away from him when the shooting happened.
A child, identified by police as a girl, is heard on the 911 call say, “Mommy, mommy.”
The victim says she can’t breathe.
“Please hurry up. I have a 4-year-old,” the victim said.
The caller said the woman was shot in the back. Herzog described the gunshot wound as in the upper torso and side area.
Herzog said detectives are still trying to determine how the suspect got into the residence. They have not yet determined if the door was unlocked of if he was invited in.
The residential area was locked down and school buses were stopped after the initial call until police determined the suspect had left the area.
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