HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A killer is on the run, responsible for a drive-by shooting that cost the life of a 20-year-old woman who was eight months pregnant.
With a little boy on the way and a baby shower the very next day, it was supposed to be a time of celebration for Jennifer Hernandez and her family.
But, on Friday evening, she was shot to death in the passenger seat of her 17-year-old boyfriend’s car after they left the Shell gas station on Airtex Drive. Her unborn child did not survive, according to deputies.
ORIGINAL STORY: Woman 8 months pregnant when shooter in white car opened fire on her and boyfriend, deputies say
“She was on the phone with her mom and kept saying, ‘I’m not going to make it, Mom,'” Rick, a witness who called the police and ran to help, said. “I called 911 and told them get the ambulance because she was shot in the face.”
Rick said he heard about seven gunshots and saw the suspects’ car, which is described as a white four-door sedan with tinted windows and paper plates, speed by.
“(Suspect’s vehicle) just flew off. It just kept on going,” Rick said. “Like they didn’t want to be part of it. Understandably, they don’t want to be part of it because they don’t want to be caught for the ignorance they did.”
Hernandez was on the phone with her mother as Rick tried to help, but he said he could tell from her injuries there was only so much he could do.
PREVIOUS STORY: Police identify woman killed on Friday who was 8 months pregnant as 20-year-old Jennifer Hernandez
“Her mom kept saying, ‘Where are you, where are you?'” Rick said. “I told her the area we were at and the cross street. I said, ‘This is where we are. Get here because I don’t think she’s going to make it. She’s telling you she’s not going to make It. I am pretty sure she’s not going to make it.'”
Her boyfriend was also shot but survived.
“He rolled out of the car, the back door, and kept saying, ‘Please help my girlfriend, please help my girlfriend,'” Rick said.
Another witness, who wants to stay anonymous, told ABC13 that the injured boyfriend was wearing a ski mask.
“It’s black. It covers his head all the way down to his forehead,” the witness said. “You were only able to see his eyes. It comes all the way down to his chin area.”
When asked about this, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office tells ABC13 that he was wearing a mask for COVID-19 health reasons. As deputies’ search for the shooter and a motive, Hernandez’s family waits for justice, for both the mom-to-be and her unborn child, who was supposed to be the first grandbaby of the family.
“Still having a hard time processing that,” Rick said. “I wish there was more I could do, but there wasn’t.”
If anyone has any information regarding the murder of Jennifer Hernandez, they are asked to contact the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit at 713-274-9100, or they can stay anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).
A family friend has created a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.
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