December 27 2016 - [⚠️: murder, intimate partner violence, gun violence] As news of #KateArmand’s tragic death spread, friends and family were left in shock. Armand, a 2011 #KelsoHighSchool graduate and #mother to 11-month-old daughter Brynn, was just 24. Police say Armand was fatally shot late #Christmas Day by her #estrangedhusband and the father of her infant daughter, James Tylka, outside a #KingCity home. She was found dead in the street near the home where Tylka appeared to be living with his mother, according to The Oregonian. “All Kate wanted to be was a mom,” Armand’s longtime friend Kelsey Schueller said by phone Tuesday. “I’ve never seen Kate’s eyes light up like they did when she first met Brynn.” According to authorities, Oregon State Police trooper Nic Cederberg was shot by Tylka, 30, during a shootout between the two 20 miles south of #Portland. Tylka had fled the scene and police gave chase, according to news reports. The couple had been married for several years and were reportedly going through a #divorce. Cederberg, 32, was taken to the hospital, received surgery Monday and remained in critical condition Tuesday morning. Tylka was killed in the shoot-out. According to Schueller, Armand wasn’t the kind of person to let obstacles get in her way. Armand was raised by her aunts in Kelso after her mom died (her dad wasn’t involved in her life, Schueller said). “Kate just never saw the glass as half empty. She was constantly knocked down and had all these hoops to jump through,” Schueller said. “She’s just a naturally super strong person. She would never let anyone see her as struggling.” In January 2015, she lost her first daughter, Harlow Wren Tylka, in a miscarriage. She was devastated, Schueller said, but soldiered on — no one it seems expected anything less from the unstoppable Armand. She committed herself to becoming emotionally and physically healthy enough for a second baby and started a blog to support mothers who’d also lost babies to miscarriages. Schueller said she’d meet with anyone for coffee who wanted her help, love or support. #violenceagainstwomen #domesticviolence #restinpeace (at King City, Oregon)