15-year-old girl found dead with gunshot wounds in vehicle in southwest Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Police are investigating after a 15-year-old girl was found dead with gunshot wounds in a vehicle Tuesday morning in southwest Cedar Rapids.

According to the Cedar Rapids Police Department, officers were called just before 6:30 a.m. to the Hawthorne Hills apartment complex — in the 2200 block of C Street SW — for reports of a single-vehicle crash.

When they arrived, police said they found a vehicle with extensive damage and a teenage girl in the driver’s seat. Police said the girl was dead and had what appeared to be gunshot wounds.

The name of the girl is being withheld pending notification of the family.

The final determination regarding the cause of death will be made during an autopsy by the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing, police said, adding that the preliminary investigation indicates the shooting likely was a targeted incident.

According to the Affordable Housing Network Inc. — a nonprofit human services organization that focuses on providing affordable housing to Linn County residents — the Hawthorne Hills apartment complex consists of 204 units that include efficiency units as well as apartments with one, two or three bedrooms.

The apartment complex houses individuals and families whose earnings fall 30 to 50 percent below the area median income, according to the AHNI website.

The apartment complex is currently full with a waiting list of a year or longer.

Police are asking that anyone with information regarding the 15-year-old’s death call Cedar Rapids police at (319) 286-5491 or Linn County CrimeStoppers at 1-(800) CS-CRIME.

This is a developing story. Updates will follow as more information becomes available.

Comments: (319) 398-8238; kat.russell@thegazette.com.