Bradenton woman returning from grocery store shot to death in car, police say

Neighbors honor shooting victim at vigil

Evyn Moon reports

BRADENTON, Fla. - An innocent Bradenton woman is dead and police are searching for the gunmen who investigators believe may have opened fire in two separate neighborhoods Tuesday.

Yolanda Baxcajay, 43, had just arrived home after grocery shopping when she was struck in her car on the 2100 block of 15th Ave. E, according to detectives.

Tuesday night, dozens of family members, friends and neighbors came together to mourn, and beg the community for help in finding those responsible.

Image of Yolanda Baxcajay. (Courtesy of family of Yolanda Baxcajay)

Pictured: Yolanda Baxcajay. (Courtesy of the Baxcajay family)

"We're very sad, but not trying to question what happened, just want to come to terms with it. We reminisced [tonight] on how much of a Godly, honest, happy woman she was, impacting everyone here with her smile," said her daughter Joanna Rodriguez-Baxcajay after the vigil Wednesday night honoring her mother.

Detectives said at least 30 shots were fired by at least two different people in this shooting. Responding officers said they tried to help save Baxcajay before she was taken to a local hospital, where she died overnight.

"You would expect that you will go home at the end of the day and just be safe in your home. And unfortunately, in this case, a woman who was doing just that, she was on her way home from the grocery store and never made it inside," said Meredith Censullo, a Bradenton Police spokesperson.

The family is begging the community for help looking for the shooters.

"We are going to post every single day, keep the news going, keep the word out there to find out who did this to my mom. It can feel really, really hard... We're gonna keep making our voice heard with all the support in our community," said Joanna.

Yolanda Baxcajay, 43, is dead after a pair of shootings in Bradenton, according to police. (Bradenton Police Department)

Police are trying to determine if this incident is connected to one that happened about 90 minutes earlier, less than a mile away. Someone fired at least 10 rounds about an hour and a half earlier, damaging homes and vehicles on the 2400 block of 8th Avenue East.

Detectives say the investigation is still ongoing and anyone with information should contact Det. Brian Sands at brian.sands@bradentonpd.com or 941-932-9356, or Det. Jeff Beckley at jeff.beckley@bradentonpd.com or 941-932-9356.

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