Mother, teen daughter identified after being found shot to death inside Trenton home
Authorities identified the two as 40-year-old Malika Whiting and 13-year-old Jairah Biggs.
TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) -- Police are investigating a double homicide in Trenton, New Jersey.
According to the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, Trenton police were called to the 300 block of West State Street at 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning.
Officers on the scene found a 13-year-old girl in a third-floor bedroom suffering from a gunshot wound.
Officials also found a 40-year-old woman, the girl's mother, who had also been shot.
Police found her on the stairs leading up to the third floor.
They have been identified as Malika Whiting and her daughter, Jairah Biggs.
State Street remained closed with a number police on scene for hours after the incident.
Investigators searched a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee on the property, which was parked in a lot next to the home.
The door to the home remained open, where you could see a colorful balloon display inside, indicating the family just celebrated something special.
Both Whiting and Biggs were pronounced dead at the scene.
"A joy. She really was the sweetest girl. She never gave me any issues," Gabrielle Williams, with Gear Up Trenton said about Biggs. "I'm devastated that it happened just a few doors down from me and I didn't know anything. I didn't hear anything. I'm just devastated."
Officials say a person of interest has been detained but on unrelated charges.
The investigation remains ongoing, no arrests have been made.
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora stated that local authorities are "working tirelessly to bring justice to the victims and their family."
He also announced that crisis counselors will be available in Trenton schools and that a prayer vigil is being organized.
