Police said the victim was shot after a confrontation tied to a recent breakup.

HERMITAGE, Pa. — A 32-year-old woman has been charged with first-degree murder after police said she followed her ex-girlfriend to a Lowe’s parking lot in Hermitage and fatally shot the woman’s new partner.

Taneesha Lynn Teague is accused in the death of Salim Basalat, 36, who was shot outside the home improvement store on Glimcher Boulevard over the Memorial Day weekend. The case moved quickly from a shooting investigation to a homicide case after Basalat died at a hospital the next morning. Police and court records describe a confrontation that began with a strained breakup and ended with gunfire in a retail parking lot while a child was nearby.

The shooting happened May 25 at the Lowe’s store in Hermitage, a Mercer County city in northwestern Pennsylvania near the Ohio line. Investigators said Teague had followed her former girlfriend and the woman’s young daughter to the store. The former girlfriend was there to meet Basalat, who was standing near his vehicle when Teague arrived, according to the criminal complaint. The complaint said Teague was upset when she saw the meeting. Police said she got out of a vehicle with a loaded handgun, walked toward the group and fired several shots. A voice could be heard during a 911 call warning someone to move or “she would die too,” according to local reports on the complaint.

Basalat was struck in the arm and abdomen, police said. Emergency crews took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 10 a.m. May 26. Reports differed on whether the girl who witnessed the shooting was 8 or 9, but the complaint and local coverage described her as the daughter of Teague’s former girlfriend. Authorities did not immediately say whether the woman or child suffered physical injuries. The shooting was reported shortly before midnight or just after midnight in some police and media accounts, while other reports described the confrontation as happening Monday morning. Investigators have not publicly resolved that timing difference.

Police identified Teague as a suspect soon after the shooting. A white Nissan work van believed to have been driven by her became a focus of the search. Hermitage police shared the vehicle description and Pennsylvania license plate ZYB-3944 while warning that Teague should be considered armed and dangerous. Officers later found the van near a KFC restaurant close to the shopping center, but Teague was not inside. The parking lot and nearby areas were part of the early evidence search as police worked to secure the scene, locate witnesses and track the suspect’s movements after the shooting.

The case also drew attention because of the relationship history described in the complaint. Teague and her former girlfriend had ended their relationship about a month earlier but were still living together, according to reports on the court filing. The former girlfriend, identified in one local report as Tiffany Ray Sutton, had gone to the Lowe’s lot to meet Basalat. Investigators said Teague saw Basalat talking with Sutton and the child outside his vehicle before the shooting began. The complaint does not say that Basalat had threatened Teague or that he was armed. Those details, if raised, would likely become part of later court filings or testimony.

Teague turned herself in to Hermitage police just before 1 p.m. May 26, authorities said. She initially faced attempted homicide while Basalat was hospitalized, but the case was amended after his death. Court records and police reports list charges of first-degree murder, criminal homicide, aggravated assault and three counts of recklessly endangering another person. The endangerment counts appear tied to the people near Basalat when shots were fired. Prosecutors will have to prove the charges in Mercer County court. Teague is presumed innocent unless convicted.

The filing of a first-degree murder charge means prosecutors are alleging an intentional killing. The complaint’s details about Teague following her former girlfriend, seeing Basalat and firing a handgun are likely to be central to the case. Police also are expected to rely on witness accounts, the 911 call, the location of the vehicles, any recovered firearm evidence and surveillance video that may exist from the store or nearby businesses. Officials have not publicly released all evidence collected from the Lowe’s lot, and they have not said whether a weapon has been recovered.

The scene outside the Lowe’s sits in a busy commercial area where large parking lots serve several stores and restaurants. Police activity there drew public concern because officers were looking for a person they believed could still be armed. The public alert ended when Teague surrendered later that day. For shoppers and workers in the area, the case turned a familiar retail stretch into a crime scene marked by police tape, emergency vehicles and investigators searching the pavement for evidence. No public statement from Lowe’s about the shooting was immediately included in the available reports.

The next stage is expected to focus on whether prosecutors can show enough evidence for the case to proceed toward trial. Teague’s preliminary arraignment was scheduled for May 27. Police have not announced a full timeline for completing the investigation.

Author note: Last updated June 22, 2026.