Police say a Chattanooga woman died instantly after being shot in the forehead early Sunday morning.
The shooting resulted in the city's fifth homicide of the year.
According to police spokeswoman Officer Rebecca Royval, six people packed a maroon Ford Taurus headed downtown on East 11th Street after they left My Uncle's Place, a bar on Fairview Avenue.
The driver stopped at a stop sign at Houston Street before a white four-door sedan crossed the street's double yellow line and pulled up beside the Taurus.
An unknown assailant fired several shots toward the Taurus. A single bullet struck Jeryl Y. Hudson, 55.
Police responded to Erlanger hospital after receiving an "unknown trouble" call from the emergency room. Officer Rebecca Royval said the 911 call involved a lot of commotion in the background without a speaker taking charge.
"There was not anyone on the line telling (dispatchers) what it was," she said. "It got a first priority response because we were really not sure what we had."
Officers arrived to find the victim slumped over the front seat of the Taurus, Officer Royval said. Ms. Hudson was pronounced dead after an emergency room doctor examined her inside the vehicle.
Five other people were in the car with Ms. Hudson. All were in their 40s or 50s except a 21-year old male, said Lt. Tim Carroll, head of the major crimes division for Chattanooga Police.
"Most of the people in this car are way older than what we've been dealing with," said Lt. Carroll, referring to recent shootings involving teenagers. "We don't think it's gang-related at all."
Witnesses told police there were "no problems at all" at the bar before the shooting, but Lt. Carroll said he was skeptical.
"A random shooting is always a possibility, but there's usually some rhyme or reason to do something of this magnitude," he said. "I think something started in the club and ended up in this shooting, but that's just speculation."
On a barred front door, My Uncle's Place advertises 12 written rules, including a weapons ban, a notice that "all large bags will be searched" and warnings of ejection if an argument isn't settled after a first warning.
An open beer bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag sat near a window where a sign noted no one under 30 is allowed inside the bar.
"I'm not a veteran there but I've never seen a fight," said Virgil Hayes, an occasional patron. "I've maybe seen a couple arguing or something and (the owner) gets them to exit the building. It's laid back. You don't see a lot of young people there, so that's why I'm surprised."
Police have made no arrests in the case, but are looking for tips on the older-model white sedan, which "possibly contained two black males," according to Officer Royval.
Lt. Carroll said the sedan has tinted windows.