BUFFALO, N.Y. — When police started investigating Thursday afternoon's shooting that killed a mother in front of her children, at least 25 shell casings were found on the street. 

One Butler Avenue woman, who did not want to be named, described the incident as sounding "like popcorn. It didn't stop." 

Police say 31-year-old Lakendra Tillmon was killed while driving a truck with a man and her three children inside. Police say all the children, ranging in age from 5 to 9, escaped without injury. 

The resident says she heard the shootings from inside her house before she ran outside to help the victim.

"The neighbor brought scissors," she recalled. "We had to literally cut the air bag to get to the girl.  But the worst part about it was she had three babies in the car and they ran around in circles in the middle of the street, they were so confused they didn't know what to do. It just broke my heart."

Friday police returned to the neighborhood talking to residents and trying to gather clues and information that could lead them to the killer.  

"Shooters don't look and see who's in a car before they shoot, they just shoot," said Murray Holman, president of Stop the Violence Coalition.

Holman said this shooting is just the latest incident where young children were put in the line of fire. Last month a 17-month old boy was shot and killed along with his grandmother on Grape Street. Police believe that shooting was gang related.

"This is personal beefs gone wrong and people want to use guns to solve it and then other people are affected by it," Holman said.

Oftentimes it's the children who suffer the most.

"My son, he actually was out here and he's not talking or eating. He's traumatized," a neighbor said. 

Police say if you have any information about this shooting to call the the Buffalo police confidential tipline at 716-847-2255.