A 21-year-old pregnant woman by the name of Genesis Escobar was shot and killed in a gunfire exchange after attempting to rob someone, police say.
Authorities say Escobar was attempting to steal a vehicle on the 5200 block of West Montana Street, a street in a Chicago neighborhood. She entered the vehicle with the intent to steal the car, according to a statement released by the Chicago Police Department.
When the person inside the vehicle saw her attempting to get inside the car, gunfire was exchanged between the people inside the vehicle and someone outside. Escobar was shot in the shoulder, back and hand.
She was immediately taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries. Soon after, she was pronounced dead. Friends say Escobar was seven months pregnant and was due to give birth soon.
A witness at the scene described the moments leading to Escobar’s death.
“We looked out the window and seen that the vehicle — someone opened the driver door, walked around the vehicle, pulled the body out and drove off,” Iris Alvarez told Chicago Sun Times. “I feel that for a person to do that to someone, doesn’t have a heart.”
Authorities have not identified a suspect and no one is in custody.
“When we got to the hospital, unfortunately, the baby was not able to be saved and she passed away as well,” Alvarez concluded, adding that she was a friend to Escobar and lived nearby where the incident took place.
The news of Escobar’s death comes just days after Chicago’s mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her bid to be re-elected mayor. At the time she lost the re-election, voters said they were not confident she would be able to quell the skyrocketing incidents of crime, which has rocked the city in recent years.
