Pittsburgh's WTAE anchor and reporter Wendy Bell has been fired for making racist comments about a suburban shooting that left four people dead

A Pittsburgh TV station has fired a white anchorwoman over racist comments she posted on Facebook about a deadly mass shooting.

WTAE severed ties with Wendy Bell following her controversial comments she made about a suburban ambush that left five people - including a pregnant woman and her unborn child - dead on March 9.

Parent company Hearst Television said Bell's comments were 'inconsistent with the company's ethics and journalistic standards.'

It comes less than 48 hours after the journalist, who has won 21 regional Emmys, apologized for the vulgar remarks.

In the virulent rant on March 21, she wrote: 'You needn't be a criminal profiler to draw a mental sketch of the killers who broke so many hearts two weeks ago Wednesday.

'They are young black men, likely teens or in their early 20s.

'They have multiple siblings from multiple fathers and their mothers work multiple jobs. These boys have been in the system before.

'They've grown up there. They know the police. They've been arrested.'

She also goes on to contrast the 'young black men' with a black teen she witnessed bussing tables at a restaurant, saying that teen would 'make it'.

Bell also mentions how she praised the black teen's work ethic to the restaurant manager, then wondered 'how long it had been since someone told him he was special'.

Authorities have not made any arrests in the killings or provided a description of the possible suspects.

Siblings Jerry Michael Shelton, 35, Brittany Powell, 27, and Chanetta Powell, 25, along with two cousins, Tina Shelton, 37, and Shada Mahone, 26, were killed in the ambush shooting, police said. Chanetta Powell was nearly eight months pregnant.

On Wednesday, Bell defended herself, saying she didn't get a 'fair shake' from the station, and that the story was not about her, but about 'African-Americans being killed by other African-Americans.'

Bell's Facebook comments have now been removed, but claimed the unidentified suspects of the shooting were 'young black men' and that one didn't have to be a 'criminal profiler' to image that

'It makes me sick,' she told The Associated Press when reached at her home on Wednesday. 'What matters is what's going on in America, and it is the death of black people in this country. ... I live next to three war-torn communities in the city of Pittsburgh, that I love dearly.

'My stories, they struck a nerve. They touched people, but it's not enough. More needs to be done. The problem needs to be addressed.'

Bell joined WTAE in 1998 and has won 21 Emmy Awards.

Her post drew mixed reactions from viewers. Some saw her comments as offensive and called for her firing, while others said the comments were not racist and applauded her honesty.

Facebook pages in support and opposition of Bell were created in the wake of the incident.

Parent company Hearst Television said Bell's (pictured with some of her 21 Emmys) comments were 'inconsistent with the company's ethics and journalistic standards.'

Sisters Chanetta Powell (left) and Brittany Powell (right) are two of the five people who were killed in a shooting at the Pittsburgh cookout on March 9

Victims Jerry Shelton (left), Chanetta Powell and Brittany Powell were siblings. Jerry Shelton and Tina Shelton (right) were cousins