Philadelphia police investigate pregnant woman’s shooting death.
It should have been an auspicious night for a pregnant woman who just left her baby shower. Instead, police say, she was shot and killed while carrying her gifts.
This happened just after 8:30 p.m. in the Crescentville neighborhood, Philadelphia police said, according to KYW-TV and other local outlets. Officers only identified the woman as being 7-months pregnant and 32 years old. They said they found her shot in the head and stomach. First responders took her to Einstein Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 9:06 p.m. and her child at 9:15 p.m., according to officers in a Philadelphia Inquirer report.
Philadelphia Police Deputy Commissioner Christine Coulter said this shooting appeared to be targeted.
“When I look at this situation, it looks like someone was targeting her and looking for her,” she said, according to WPVI.
Coulter did not mince words about the shooter.
“I mean, the person that did this couldn’t be more cowardly,” she said.
Authorities, however, did not release information on who the suspect might be.
Officers said they found 11 shell casings at the scene. Neighbor Tom McDonald said his wife heard seven shots from inside their house. He warmly remembered the slain woman.
“She was a nice person up and down the street,” he said. “It’s just sad.”
The woman’s death shocked locals, and at least one friend. WTXF reporter Dave Kinchen was there when a woman who said she hosted the baby shower ran to the scene.
There have been at least 492 homicides in Philadelphia this year, according to KYW-TV. There were 499 in 2020, police say.
“Enough is enough,” McDonald said. “It’s time for the city to do something. Something. Everybody getting fed up. We tired of it.”
Asked about the nearly 500 homicides, Coulters said authorities are doing what they can, but they cannot stop targeted shootings.
“The city as a whole is doing what we can,” she said. “We can’t stop people who are intent on shooting somebody.”
[Screenshot via WPVI]