MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police are investigating after a woman was found shot to death in a car near the airport area early Sunday morning.

In the light of day Sunday, the only sign left behind that something tragic happened at the Woodlake Apartments was a small strip of crime scene tape.

“It’s really sad, you know? I really feel bad for whoever it was, and I’m going to be praying for their family tonight,” said neighbor Demia Fletcher.

She and her boyfriend said they heard the gunshots around 3 a.m., but didn’t realize what it was.

“We had heard a really loud bang and it kind of sounded like how a generator sounds when they explode,” Fletcher said. “And after we heard the sound, we heard somebody screaming, then we didn’t hear anything. It was just silence outside.”

They said they didn’t look out the window or go outside to see what it was.

“I’m fixin’ to have a baby and I didn’t want her to go out there,” said Jonathan Adams. “And I don’t have a weapon to defend myself, so I’m not fixin’ to go outside. But it’s sad that that happened.”

Another neighbor – who agreed to talk to WREG only if we concealed her identity – said she woke up for church around 6 a.m. and opened her blinds to a crime scene right outside her window.

“There was police everywhere,” she said. “It was taped off, you couldn’t get through, you couldn’t get out. And I saw the body laying on the sidewalk over there. And I was like, ‘Oh my God. Oh no. No.'”

She said police towed two cars from the scene.

People who live in the complex say they’re feeling uneasy and left wondering when the killer will be caught.

“It’s crazy out here, man,” Fletcher said.

Others say their sense of security has been shattered.

“I’m feeling like I’ve gotta either leave or find a way to defend myself now,” Adams said.

Police have identified the victim as Maria Barton. They have not released a description for the subject.

If you know anything, Call Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH.