A pregnant woman has died and her baby is in critical condition after the woman and a man were shot by two gunmen with assault rifles in Southeast D.C. on Thursday morning, police said. The search for the shooters is ongoing.
Samya Gill, of Fort Washington, Maryland, and a man were shot multiple times in a parked car in the 300 block of 37th Street SE at about 11:20 a.m., police said. Gill was in the passenger seat of a silver sedan, and the man was in the driver's seat. She was 22.
Doctors were able to save Gill's baby, who was stable and expected to survive as of Friday evening, News4 learned.
After being shot, the man drove less than a mile north to Minnesota Avenue and Dix Street NE, near a McDonald’s. They were found there and were rushed to a hospital, where Gill died. The man's injuries were not expected to be life-threatening.
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Residents of our area should be outraged, interim Chief of Police Ashan Benedict said Thursday evening at an anti-crime walk in Northeast D.C.
“Ordinarily, especially going back a few years, the community would reach out. There’d be outrage. There’d be outrage at a young mother — expecting to be mother — that’s lost their life," he said.
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The silver sedan had several bullet holes in the windshield and at least one window.
Police are searching for the shooters and a white, four-door sedan. Anyone with potentially relevant information is asked to contact police. A reward of up to $25,000 was offered.
Video that was not immediately released by police shows two men armed with “assault rifles” get out of the white sedan on 37th Street SE and rush toward the silver sedan, interim Executive Assistant Chief Andre Wright said.
“They both take aim at the vehicle, and they fire into the vehicle,” he said.
A number of people were outside in the area at the time.
“This is a brazen act. It happened in the middle of the day,” Wright said.
Police said they know the shooting was targeted, but they do not know the motive.
“From what we know and what we were able to view from video, this was a targeted event,” Wright said.
Police said they have very solid information and leads in the investigation.
“This is a tragedy, and it keeps happening," a woman said near where the bullet-riddled car was found. "When is it going to stop? What is it going to take to make it stop?”
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Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
