(CNN) A 61-year-old Texas woman celebrating New Year's Eve was apparently killed by celebratory gunfire in Houston, authorities said Wednesday.

The woman's family and friends were discharging fireworks when she "suddenly called out that she had been shot," the Harris County Sheriff's Office said in a tweet

She was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said it appears the victim "may have been struck by celebratory gunfire from outside the immediate neighborhood."

The Menninger Clinic in Houston identified the victim as Philippa "Phil" Ashford, a nurse manager at their mental health facility for more than 12 years.

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