The death of a Pennsylvania teacher who was fatally shot in her bed was a case of mistaken identity.
According to authorities, Nathan Quidetto, 20, the suspect in Tracy Marie Squib’s death, claimed he thought he was shooting at the home of someone from a drug deal gone wrong, not the home of a 52-year-old mother of two, KDKA reports. Quidetto is facing homicide and discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure charges for Squib’s death Monday, Pittsburg Tribune-Review reports.
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“As Tracy Squib slept peacefully in her bed, bullets were shot from outside her home. One pierced her chest & sadly took her life,” a GoFundMe page started for her family states.
According to court documents, Squib’s husband told authorities she woke him up saying she had been bitten by something. But when he turned on the lights, he saw his wife bleeding from her chest, KDKA reports.
Authorities said multiple shots were fired into Squib’s house while her husband and two children were home. Police say during an interview, Quidetto admitted to shooting at Squib’s home “in retaliation for a botched drug transaction.” He didn’t realize he had shot into the wrong residence.
“He has no idea who this family was. This had nothing to do with this family whatsoever. It’s tragic. It’s a shame,” Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani told local station WPXI.
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“Tracy was a friend to all that knew her,” the GoFundMe says. “As you can imagine, her family is left feeling broken, wondering how this could’ve happened to such a beautiful soul. No one is ever prepared for something like this.”
Squib taught at Grace Bible Academy for 15 years. One coworker, Nikki Updegraff, told local station KDKA-TV that Squib was “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,” she said.
She and her family also ran their own Christmas Tree Farm.
“She was everybody’s best friend, a second mom,” a former student said, KDKA-TV reports. “She was the most fun, energetic, lovable person that I don’t have enough words to go into.”
Attorney information for Quidetto was not available Friday.
