Single Mom One of Two Gunned Down

A corrections officer and single mother is one of two people shot and killed around 1:00 a.m. Thursday, on 22nd Street, between Division and Tamarind Avenues in West Palm Beach.

 38-year old Connie Pierce, of West Palm Beach, the mother of three boys ages six to 15, worked for the past seven years as a corrections officer at the Juvenile Detention Center on 45th Street in West Palm.  The other victim is 33-year old Keith Wade.

 Investigators say Pierce's body was found inside a car, slumped over the steering wheel, while it appears Wade was gunned down while getting out of the vehicle.  Police say the two victims knew each other, but could not elaborate beyond that.  A West Palm Beach Police spokesman said Thursday afternoon detectives were pounding the pavement looking for the gunman.

 The shootings happened in front of the home of Pierce's great grandmother, who had taken in Pierce as a child and raised her. "Everyday she was here," said Connie's grandfather Willie Pierce, referring to Connie's daily visits to check on her adoptive mother. "How she got caught up in this, I haven't the slightest idea," exclaimed Mr. Pierce, who said Connie's children were doing as well as one could expect.

 Connie's aunt Dorothy Riley added, "We're a very close tight-knit family.  So her kids will either be with some of the relatives we have here, most likely me.  They'll have all the backing they need to get through this."

 The family of the other victim tells CBS 12, Keith Wade also had three kids.  Wade's sister, Rosalyn Wade, described her brother as a good man, loved by many.

 A check of booking records indicated Mr. Wade had been arrested a number of times in recent years, most for drug charges.

 Jolanda Powell, a friend of Connie Pierce since junior high school, said she also knew Mr. Wade.  "I know him and I've never actually heard of her being affiliated with him," said Powell.  "That's why I was shocked for her to be in the car with him.  The only thing Connie did was, she went to work everyday and she cared for her children.  That was it."