Jesika Tetlow collected stray cats and stood up to bullies. She wanted to work in medicine and become a mom, maybe open an animal shelter someday.

Her plans were cut short early Tuesday when Baltimore Police found Tetlow, 18, suffering from a gunshot wound inside a home off York Road in North Baltimore’s Mid-Govans neighborhood. She was pronounced dead shortly after medics arrived around 1 a.m.

Police declined Wednesday to discuss details of the shooting.

Relatives gathered at the family’s Baltimore County home described Jesika Tetlow as a strong-willed young woman, “a firecracker” with firm convictions and wisdom beyond her years.

“She ran this house and this family,” her grandmother Carol Ford said, smiling sadly. “She’s probably up there now, reorganizing heaven.”

Photo of Jesika Tetlow, 18, who was shot and killed early Tuesday in the 500 block of Tunbridge Road.

The youngest of four siblings, she routinely bossed around her older brothers. She helped care for her sister, who is developmentally disabled. She served as a peer counselor at school, helping other kids who were struggling. She wasn’t afraid to speak out against bullying.

Above all, her parents said, she believed in loving people equally and treating them well. She didn’t cast judgment based on someone’s appearance or how much money they had, and “she’ll be remembered for that,” said her mom, Susannah Tetlow.

“Misfits, those were sort of her people,” added her dad, Frank Tetlow — and animals, too.

He recalled when Jesika found three stray kittens in a mud puddle and insisted the family take them in.

At the family home Wednesday afternoon, one of those former strays walked gingerly through the living room, settling on a windowsill. In the basement, a pitbull puppy she recently adopted was probably waiting for her to return, her father said.

“We all just keep expecting her to come bounding through the door, asking what’s for dinner or something,” said Susannah Tetlow, sitting on the couch next to a large stuffed giraffe — Jesika wasn’t too old for stuffed animals yet, she said — and hugging a pink blanket her youngest child used to sleep with.

At a family reunion Saturday, Frank Tetlow said, Jesika was in good spirits, chatting away about her future plans. She recently had been offered a job with Amazon. She was taking high school and college classes online, with plans to work in the medical field or become a veterinarian. She also hoped to have children soon.

“She had all these goals,” her dad said. “It just doesn’t seem possible that she’s not gonna be here to do everything.”

Her parents didn’t learn about her death until several hours after the shooting, when some friends showed up at the family home and told her brother she was dead. Since then, family members have talked to some of the witnesses, but they want more answers.

They said Tetlow had been hanging out with several other people at the Tunbridge Road home the night of the shooting, where she would sometimes stay after a long night playing cards or board games. They had heard from her earlier in the night; she said she wasn’t feeling well and went upstairs to lie down a few hours before the shooting.

The parents said witnesses later told them a group of masked intruders entered through the back door and held everyone at gunpoint, then demanded their cellphones. According to the witnesses, Tetlow denied having a phone, and when the robbers realized she was lying, one of them shot her twice in the head, her parents said.

When they heard this account of the shooting, the parents found themselves with more questions than answers about how their youngest child was killed.

Susannah Tetlow holds up a photo of her daughter, Jesika Tetlow, 18, who was shot and killed early Tuesday in the 500 block of Tunbridge Road. (Lea Skene)

On Wednesday, Frank and Susannah Tetlow said they couldn’t imagine Jesika risking her life over an iPhone.

“That’s what really bothers us — she was not materialistic at all. She would give away anything,” her mom said.

Her dad added: “She knew we would buy her a new phone in a heartbeat.”

They said Jesika was robbed a few years ago while riding her bike in Catonsville. After the attacker pushed her to the ground, she practically threw her phone at him in hopes of protecting herself from further violence, her parents said. They said she made no attempt to fight back when he also took her bike.

“She would say it’s better to give it away,” Susannah Tetlow said. “We are just shocked, confused, devastated and shattered. We have so many questions.”

Police have released few details about the case, which remains under investigation. Detectives asked anyone with information about the case to call them at 410-396-2100.