On a cold December afternoon in Hammond, Indiana, the life of Tiffany Woods, a 39-year-old Black woman, was brought to a tragic and violent end. On December 27, 2024, witnesses reported seeing her running down the street, screaming for help. Her pursuer was her ex-husband, who then shot her multiple times in a residential intersection. When police officers arrived at the scene around 2:30 p.m., they found Tiffany, who was pronounced dead from her injuries.
The incident was immediately investigated as a domestic-related homicide.
The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Allen Oscar Woods, fled the scene after the shooting. An active investigation was launched by the Hammond Police Department, who worked diligently to gather evidence and secure charges against him. It was quickly determined that Allen Woods had likely fled to the Chicagoland area to evade capture. The U.S. Marshals Service joined the manhunt and sought assistance from the public and local media, providing a photo and description of the fugitive.
After a nearly two-week search, a crucial tip was received on January 8, 2025. A member of the public reported seeing an individual matching Woods's description in Chicago. This led members of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, along with the Chicago Police Department and the Illinois Department of Corrections, to an establishment on South Canal Street, believed to be a homeless shelter where Woods had been working in the kitchen. There, Allen Oscar Woods was successfully apprehended without incident. He has since been charged in Lake Criminal Court with the murder of his ex-wife, Tiffany Woods, and is awaiting his day in court.
