A woman who was gunned down Friday morning at a Florida fast-food restaurant is being remembered as a caring and devoted mother and daughter, the Florida Times-Union reports.
An unknown assailant shot Jamie Marie Roque, 32, at least once in the head around 8:30 a.m. Friday as she was in the drive-thru lane of a Jacksonville McDonald’s. Authorities have not officially released the victim’s name, but family members told the newspaper that person is Roque.
She was rushed to a local hospital and died shortly thereafter, according to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Sgt. Marc Musser. Police have not yet made an arrest in the case.
Roque was a mom to three young boys – two who are autistic – and also cared for her mother. She worked as a desk clerk at a hotel and spent whatever free time she had with her family, according to Roque’s aunt, Rose Mary Lopez.
“She was a beautiful person. She loved life and her family,” Lopez told the newspaper. “She was all about her kids and her mom, who has lost it over this. There wasn’t a bad, mean bone in that child. This is all so crazy.”
Witnesses have said the shooter may be a heavy-set black male who escaped in a white car. Investigators are considering all possible motives for the crime, although Musser said there might have been a relationship between Roque and the gunman, but it’s too early to definitively conclude that.
The victim’s friends say her boyfriend may have been trying to harm her, WTLV-TV reports.
Investigators have been reviewing security camera footage from McDonald’s and other nearby businesses to help identify the shooter.
On Saturday, Roque’s friends posted Facebook messages in remembrance of her.
“R.I.P. beautiful,” one post read. Another person wrote: “u will be missed by so many I Love You AND I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN IN HEAVEN. #JUSTICEFORJAMIE.”
Lopez said she last talked with Roque a couple of weeks ago over the phone, and she seemed happy.
“She was just a great person, a loving person,” Lopez said.
Contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office 904-630-0500 or JSOCrimeTips@jaxsheriff.org to report information about the case. To remain anonymous and to be eligible for a reward, contact First Coast Crime Stoppers at 866-845-8477 (TIPS) or rewards@fccrimestoppers.com.
Authorities are especially interested in talking with people who may have witnessed the shooting but left the scene before police arrived.
[Feature Photo: Jamie Marie Roque/Facebook]