A 30-year-old pregnant Maryland woman was shot and killed Friday night, and her baby is in critical condition after an emergency delivery, the Howard County Police Department says.
Rabiah Ahmad was struck once when several rounds were fired into the house in Columbia where she was staying. She was rushed to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where she died.
Ahmad was 28 weeks pregnant, police said. The baby was “still critical” Saturday afternoon, county police spokesman Seth Hoffman told the Baltimore Sun.
Hoffman said investigators were looking into whether someone at the house was targeted in the shooting. He said several unrelated people lived there.
Neighbors said the area where the shooting took place is normally quiet; one said he heard the shots but assumed it was overnight construction work. Fifteen minutes later, he said, police were on the scene.
“This is a quiet neighborhood,” he said. “There are usually little kids playing in the street.”
“It is an unimaginable and unacceptable tragedy which took place in our community overnight,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said in a statement. “Our condolences and prayers go out to the family and friends of Ms. Ahmad and to our entire Howard County Muslim community who are shocked and saddened by the incident which occurred on Eid al-Adha, the Day of Sacrifice.”
Ahmad’s boyfriend, Kadeem Bailey, told the Sun that she was Muslim. “She was an amazing spirit,” he said.
Bailey said he was on hand when the shooting took place but declined to comment further.
Police are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information and have asked residents to check their doorbell or security cameras for activity around 11 p.m. Friday night.
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[Featured image: Rabiah Ahmad in 2015/Facebook]
