A growing memorial honors Tasha Moses, a longtime City of St. Petersburg sanitation worker and mother of four, as investigators continue piecing together the events.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A growing memorial outside the City of St. Petersburg’s sanitation department is honoring Tasha Moses, a longtime sanitation worker and mother of four who police say was shot and killed while inside her city work vehicle.

Flowers, balloons and handwritten messages now line the entrance to the department where Moses worked for the past 12 years.



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Neighbors say they’re remembering her not for the way she died, but for the kindness she showed everyone she met.

“Just the nicest person you wanna meet,” said Carolyn Harris, who works and lives near Moses. “Every time she see me, she always wave and was sweet. Like okay, God bless you, be careful. She was really a nice person.”

According to St. Petersburg police, the 47-year-old was shot multiple times Wednesday afternoon while sitting inside the cab of her front-end loader in the Childs Park neighborhood.

RELATED: St. Pete city employee, mother of 4, shot and killed; suspect seriously injured after I-75 standoff

Investigators say evidence suggests Moses and the suspect knew each other and got into an argument before the shooting. Detectives believe the case is domestic-related.

Hours later, Florida Highway Patrol located the suspect, 43-year-old Ladavion King, on Interstate 75 in Fort Myers. Body camera video shows troopers ordering him out of his vehicle before deploying a K-9 after investigators say he barricaded himself inside.

Shots were fired but King was eventually taken into custody and transported to the hospital with serious injuries. No law enforcement officers were injured during the standoff.

As detectives continue investigating what led to the shooting, neighbors say they’re still struggling to make sense of Moses’ death.

“We’re mad, we’re confused, we’re angry. Why did it happen?” Harris said.

Police have not released additional details about the relationship between Moses and the suspect or what they believe sparked the argument.

Meanwhile, the memorial outside the sanitation department continues to grow as coworkers, neighbors and friends stop by to honor a woman they say dedicated more than a decade of service to the City of St. Petersburg.