UPDATE 2: Allen County Coroner has identified the female victim as Pearla Nieto, 59, of Fort Wayne

UPDATE: In a news release sent at 5:28 p.m. on Dec. 7, the Fort Wayne Police Department said, “Jermard J. Lewis, 30, was taken into custody within four hours of the fatal stabbing. Lewis is charged with murder and is currently confined at the Allen County Jail.”

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WISH) — Officers with the Fort Wayne Police Department are investigating a fatal stabbing that occurred at a Kroger Thursday morning.

At 10:31 a.m. Thursday, a man threatened staff at a Kroger grocery store located in the 7000 block of Bluffton Road. The man left and police were disregarded. The man returned to the store around 11:06 a.m. and stabbed an adult female employee, fleeing in a vehicle shortly after. Kroger staff provided aid to the injured employee until law enforcement and medical services arrived.

The injured employee was transported in life-threatening condition to a local hospital, where she died from her wounds.

Fort Wayne officers and detectives are attempting to identify and locate the suspect. Investigators believe this was a targeted incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public. The Allen County Coroner’s Office will release the victim’s identity.