An attempted murder-suicide sends a North Tonawanda woman to the hospital with eight gunshot wounds. Police later found her ex-boyfriend dead.

Buffalo Police found 48-year-old Richard Hance's body inside his car, which was parked in a parking lot off the I-190 near the Niagara River. North Tonawanda police tracked him down by triangulating his cell phone signal. They say he had shot himself after attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend.

A desperate 9-1-1 call from a woman at an apartment on Falconer Street in North Tonawanda came in early this morning. "She gave us the name of who her shooter was. When officers arrived we found her with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso," said North Tonawanda Police Chief Randy Szukala.

The victim had a prior order of protection against Hance, but it had recently expired. "What the relationship was currently I really don't know at this point. Even though he is deceased, it is still part of our investigation to determine what may have caused it," said Szukala.

This incident, however, is just the latest one in a strong of violent and deadly domestic violence attacks on women here in Western New York. "Since last July of 2008, we've had 13 murders in Erie and Niagara counties and now this latest attempted murder," said Linda Ray, Executive Director of the Family Justice Center in Erie County.

The situation is alarming victim's advocates who say there were over 7,000 domestic violence instances reported last year to law enforcement agencies in Erie County.

"What we know is that the economy, poverty, crisis doesn't cause domestic violence, it certainly can exacerbate it, which may be the case in these situations," said Ray.

Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence and Ray wants women to know that they are not alone, there are people out there who can help them. "Just trying to escape on your own, while courageous and admirable, may not be safe for you and your children. We want you to get safety planning with our advocates who know how to do that," said Ray.

The Family Justice Center's services are free and confidential. They offer child care and also translation into 161 languages so they can help all victims begin their safety plan to leave their abuser. The center's phone number is 558-SAFE.

They also have a crisis hotline that is available 24/7. That number is 834-3131. For more information, check out their website at: http://www.fjcsafe.org/

The victim in the North Tonawanda shooting remains in critical condition tonight at ECMC.