Police: Man Charged In Derry Township Elementary School Teacher's Shooting Death Had The Wrong House
DERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA) - A man has been charged with homicide in the death of a Derry Township elementary school teacher and mother who was shot while she was sleeping in her home. Police say she wasn't the intended target.
Nathan Quidetto has been charged in Tracy Squib's death. He's facing multiple charges, including homicide and discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure. Police say he didn't have a firearm license.
Tracy Squib was shot early Monday morning at her home in 200 block of Pandora Road in Derry Township.
The coroner said multiple shots were fired outside the home and one struck her while she was sleeping in her bed. Squib was then taken to a local hospital where she died.
According to court paperwork, Squib's husband said she woke him up saying she had been bitten by something. When he turned on the lights, he saw her severely bleeding from her upper chest.
Her husband and two children were home at the time.
Police say during an interview, Quidetto told them that he drove to the home on Pandora Road, got out of his car with a gun, then fired multiple shots at the direction of the house. He then got back in his car and drove away, police said.
Quidetto allegedly told police he shot at Squib's house "in retaliation for a botched drug transaction." However, he had the wrong house, police say. No one in the house was involved in the alleged transaction and police say his intended target didn't live there.
Squib taught at Grace Bible Church, and her friends couldn't think of anyone who would want to hurt her.
WATCH: Pastor Jason Losier Speaks Out
Pastor Jason Losier of Grace Bible Church heard the news from Squib's daughter.
"Tracy, she was full of life," the pastor told KDKA's Jennifer Borrasso in an exclusive interview earlier this week. "It's senseless and needless and it's like this bright light was snuffed out."
For years, Squib taught preschool and kindergarten at Grace Bible Church. This year, she would have taught fourth grade.
"Helpful in any way, fun to be around. You could call her in the middle of the night because she would be there if you needed her," said teacher and friend Nikki Updegraff.
"She was everybody's best friend, a second mom," said Daniel Losier, a former student. "She was the most fun, energetic, lovable person that I don't have enough words to go into."
The family has set up a GoFundMe. Click here for more.
