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Daughter of retired River Rouge Police officer gunned down outside home Wednesday night

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Published  December 6, 2019 10:17pm EST
River Rouge
FOX 2 Detroit

RIVER ROUGE, Mich. - River Rouge police officers are searching for two shooters who fired as many as 40 rounds at a young woman Wednesday night.

But police also report, Tamia Cook, who was ambushed by the gunmen, wasn't the target. 

"I haven't been able to eat or sleep because I was supposed to be with her right before it happened," said Tahja Toney, with puffy eyes.

Toney, Cook's niece, was supposed to be with her aunt on Wednesday. Instead, Cook was alone, unloading groceries outside her River Rouge home when she was shot.

"I'm trying to be strong and I'm doing everything in my power to make her name live on," said Toney.

Family heart-broken over mother’s ambush leaves

River Rouge police officers are searching for two shooters who fired as many as 40 rounds at a young woman Wednesday night. But police also report, Tamia Cook, who was ambushed by the gunmen, wasn't the target. 

Police said two shooters came up on each side of Cook and started firing dozens of shots. Then, they came up to her and at point-blank range fired a final, fatal round. 

"It's a heartless, cowardly thing these people did and we're going to catch them," said Dan Kolke, director of public safety in River Rouge.

By the time police got on scene on Fraizer Street, Cook's new husband was holding her body on the porch. This death hit especially close for River Rouge Police too. Cook's dad is a retired police officer.

"He is very devastated by this which I can't even imagine what he's going through," said Kolke. 

Cook's mom received the call that her daughter had been shot late Wednesday night while she was at her home in Indiana.

"They didn't have to take my baby away from me like they did," said Kim Crawford.

The theory from police is that the two shooters were targeting someone else who lives with Cook, possibly her husband. Even after realizing that, they kept firing at her to send a message. Crawford knows they were not after her daughter.

"To know her is to love her, cause she was just that type of person and that's why this is so hard to grasp," said Crawford.

Cook had just married and had a job at Quicken Loans. She was talking a lot lately about having babies - a sentiment that breaks her family's heart. 

"These young kids now don't have remorse for life but you can't take innocent lives away because if you're mad at somebody or something like that, you don't have to kill anybody," said Crawford.

Police told FOX 2 they were following up on a few solid leads, however, they need help. Any assistance someone can provide to police would be appreciated.