A pregnant woman was fatally shot during a birthday party in Texas that also left four others injured.
Houston police responded to Margaret Jenkins Park at around 1 a.m. Saturday when the birthday celebration turned deadly.
“We received reports of multiple gunshots going off from our ShotSpotter technology,” Assistant Chief Ernest Garcia of the Houston police said during a press conference, referring to a type of gunshot detection system used in many cities.
“There were several groups at the park and some type of altercation took place. At some point during that altercation, several people produced firearms and began shooting.”
Autumn Vallian, 21, was killed in the shooting, her family told ABC affiliate KTRK. She was five months pregnant.
The woman’s mother, Ebony Vallian, told KTRK that they had tried to leave before the violence erupted.
“I looked back, and my baby was down on the ground. Gone,” she told the news station. “[She was] in school, trying to get a job. Trying to become something, and she’s gone now.”
Of the four who were injured, three were sent to the hospital. That included two of the suspects. The fourth person was grazed by a bullet but did not go to a hospital.