No Suspects in Killing of Pregnant Woman

Police had no suspects and no motive Thursday in the fatal shooting of a pregnant South Los Angeles woman who died after two men walked up to her home in the 2300 block of West 48th Street and fired at least five shots through a picture window, striking her once in the head.

Karen (Cookie) Buckhalter, 30, a mother of two who is believed to have been four months pregnant, was shot apparently as she walked from her kitchen into her living room about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The gunmen, who were in their late teens or early 20s, escaped in a car, witnesses said.

Los Angeles police Detective Brent Josephson said there was “a good possibility” that Buckhalter was not the intended victim. Homicide investigators were “looking strongly” at the possibility that the gunmen may have been gang members. Neighbors said gang graffiti appeared on a fence at the rear of Buckhalter’s home about two months ago.