Community stunned after mother of 2 gunned down in driveway

LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. (WPVI) -- Neighbors still can't believe such a shocking crime happened in Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County, after 46-year-old divorced mother of two, Stephanie Roof, was gunned down in her driveway.

"This is a pretty quiet little town so when something like this does happen we're just thinking, 'Oh no, not us now,' " said Donna Knerr, neighbor.

It happened just feet from her front door of the home she shared with her two teenage children, along the 6400 block of Pinecrest Lane.

Police say someone shot her around 1 a.m. Tuesday in her driveway as she was returning home for work.

"It is a very close neighborhood and when something happens like this we're just, we were shaken at first, but then we were reading in the paper that it wasn't random so we are kind of concerned about who could do this," said Knerr.

State Police are trying to figure out a motive, and who committed the violent crime. Like many of the neighbors, they also want to know why this happened to a woman who is described as loving and caring.

Just a few miles from her home, Roof's church family at Bethany United Methodist is mourning the loss. Church members did not want to go on camera, but they say Roof was involved in the youth ministry and had a passion for helping young people.

"I think they lived here for about 12 years. I'd see her when I come home on my lunch hour. She would be walking her dog and she was always out working in the yard and she was a very friendly woman," said Knerr.

Roof's co-workers at R&D Interconnect Solutions are also heartbroken and stunned by the sudden loss. Like everyone else, they are waiting to see what facts will be revealed when the investigation is complete.

"Me and my production manager were quite devastated. It is something you don't expect," said Richard Mejia, R&D Interconnect Solutions.