Woman found dead behind Lansdowne Middle School identified
BALTIMORE -- Police have identified a woman found dead behind Lansdowne Middle School Tuesday morning ,and have called it a "suspicious death."
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren reported that school staff worked to shield students from the grisly scene on campus.
The victim, 37-year-old Audra Pineda, was found wearing a red winter coat and dark pants. Police have not said how they believe she was killed or who found her.
"I was more than shocked because my daughter had called me," parent Betty Rencher said. "She said something was going on at the school. She wanted me to come and get her. I called up to the school to see what was going on. They didn't tell me there was a body found."
The children seemed upset by the discovery, Rencher said.
"I'm sure mine is not going to want to go to school tomorrow," she told Hellgren.
Principal Ryan Warfel wrote a letter to parents saying students were kept inside and telling them, "The area was blocked off, and we worked with police to ensure that students were diverted away from the area as they arrived at school."
Dispatch recordings reviewed by WJZ show Pineda was unconscious when paramedics were called at 8:08 a.m.
Shakur Brown lives in the apartments behind the middle school and was walking his children to their classes at the nearby elementary school when he saw the crime scene.
"It's traumatic. My prayers go out to whoever that is and their loved ones," Brown said.
The body was loaded into a van and taken to the medical examiner's office in Baltimore.
Firefighters washed the blood off of the sidewalk and side of the building just before noon.
Rencher said she intended to have a conversation with her daughter about what happened and try to comfort her classmates.
"I'm going to drop two of her friends at home so they don't have to walk because I think they're afraid to walk," she said.
People at the apartment complex said some use the pathway behind the school as a shortcut to get to a convenience store.
Baltimore County police stressed this is still an active investigation.
Anyone with information about the shooting should contact the police at 410-307-2020.
Anonymous tipsters can call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
