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Shocked locals claim tragic Joanne Penney was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A woman shot dead on a Welsh housing estate was a victim of mistaken identity, according to one of her closest friends.
The victim, named locally as Joanne Penney, 40, was staying at a flat when a gunman shot her on the doorstep. Friends believe the real target was the woman Joanne was staying with when she opened the front door to her killer.
Both women are blonde and about the same age. The owner of the first floor flat has a young baby and may have asked her friend to open the door. Joanne’s close friend Rebecca Morris, 42, said: “They got the wrong person, I’m 100 per cent sure of it.
“No one would want to kill Jo, she was a lovely woman with four children who would do no harm to anyone” Neighbours on the Green Park Estate at Talbot Green, South Wales, heard a single shot at 6.10pm on Sunday evening.
Emergency services arrived to find a woman in a pool of blood and were unable to save her. None of her children were there at the time. Mum-of-two Ms Morris said: “It wasn’t her flat, she was staying there with a friend. I used to live in that flat myself.
“I’m scared now because I’m blonde and about the same age and I used to live there. I’ve been crying all morning, I’m taking flowers down there and I’ve made a little memorial hanging for her.”
Locals said the shooting was “like an assassination” and believe the killing may be drugs-related. A 42-year-old local man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and is being held in police custody.
South Wales Police have isolated six separate scenes of crime locations including a car. Calum Williams, who lives just a few houses from the shooting, said: “It’s terrible. I live just two doors down from where it happened. I was making a bottle for the baby and I heard a gunshot.
“It’s pretty frightening, especially with the baby.”
Locals said “it was only a matter of time” before someone was murdered on the estate, less than half a mile from a Tesco superstore. Retired Marks and Spencer worker Louise Morden, 53, said: “We are not surprised after what’s been going on here for quite a while.
“We said until there’s a murder nothing would get done and we’ve been proven right. We could see armed police in the street last night but that’s the third time that’s happened in the last two years.
“There’s a lot of crime here, mostly drug-related. People have had their windows put through and car windscreen smashed. There’s been nothing but trouble for two-and-a half-years.”
Local Councillor Sarah Jane Davies said on Facebook: “My heart aches this morning as I think about the tragic incident that has struck Talbot Green. My thoughts are with all who have been affected by this horrific event.
“We are aware of the seriousness of the situation, and I assure you that steps are being taken to address these issues promptly.
“Please rest assured that the safety and well-being of our community remain our top priority.”
