Family speaks out after fatal Buffalo shooting
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BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A suspect has been taken into custody after police say a 44-year-old Buffalo woman was shot and killed Thursday morning.
Rickey Crouch, a 49-year-old Buffalo man, is in custody after being ejected from his vehicle following a police pursuit on the I-90, state police sources said. He allegedly crashed into an uninvolved vehicle, and after being evaluated for injuries he will be turned over to the Buffalo Police Department.
Earlier Thursday, Buffalo police said officials received a shots fired call shortly after 12 a.m. to the 600 block of Ogden Street.
The family of the victim, Amanda Thompson, spoke to WIVB News 4, sharing memories of their beloved family member.
"Funny, caring, and just a good definition of a mom," said Thompson's 14-year-old son, Kyrell.
Thompson's mother, Muril Hadden, told WIVB News 4 that Crouch broke into the home one month earlier, stealing items, and assaulting her son, Kyrell. No charges were filed for that incident.
"He tried to get me to side with him and I said, 'Well, Rick, all I have to say is I just saw my grandson and he has bruises all over him. And then he started freaking out and saying, 'You guys better move. You are in danger, too,'" said Hadden.
Hadden said her daughter and Crouch dated for four years before separating.
"He would not leave her alone," Hadden said. "He kept repeatedly going to the house, calling her. Then one day he had Amanda come to my house, and my daughter and I, take us over there, and (he tells us) that he was going to commit suicide. He wasn't going to go to jail."
Officials said Crouch's criminal history goes back to 1997, when he was sentenced to at least 23 years in prison for the shooting death of a bystander during a gun attack with rival gangs.
"As they say, prison might be a cure to this sort of thing. Prison works, rehabilitation," said former Erie County Judge Timothy J. Drury in the 1997 sentencing.
"We knew about what he did," Hadden said. "We really believed that he was remorseful and that it was just a stupid thing that a kid did; he was part of a gang. ... We never dreamed he would do this."
Buffalo police are working with officials in Cheektowaga to learn more about a recent shots fired related incident that they say could be connected to Crouch. Kyrell told WIVB News 4 the shots were fired by Crouch over an argument with his sister around an alleged stolen TV that his mom and Crouch both paid for.
Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.