An eight-months-pregnant model has died after two gunmen with rifles opened fire on a parked car in Washington DC where she was sitting with the baby’s father.
Miraculously, her daughter was delivered successfully by emergency C-section but her condition is critical. The child’s father also survived the attack.
Samya Gill, 22, was in the passenger seat of a sedan parked in Southeast D.C. around 11 a.m. Thursday when another car pulled up and two gunmen jumped out.
Between the two they fired at least 14 rounds into the car, hitting Gill and her child’s father, who was in the driver’s seat, but not directly the unborn child, police said.
Surveillance footage showed the gunmen fleeing in the vehicle they arrived in. Gill’s vehicle also left the scene but only traveled a few blocks before stopping. EMS crews then rushed both victims to a hospital, where Gill gave birth but later died.
Around 11 a.m. on June 15, two suspects fired at least 14 rounds into the car — 12 through the windshield and two through the driver’s side window.
Gill’s baby (pictured) was successfully delivered shortly after by emergency C-section but is in critical condition
Gill was sitting inside with her baby’s father when two men armed with rifles opened fire on them on Thursday, June 15.
DC Police Assistant Chief Andre Wright described it as a ‘targeted attack’ and suggested it was targeted but unable to identify a motive.
He also appealed for information from witnesses, who he suggested could be key to solving the case, and released surveillance footage showing two suspects getting out of a white sedan and approaching Gill’s car with guns drawn.
‘While none of these groups are directly involved, we believe you can’t do something as heinous as this and have the community know nothing,’ he told a news conference.
‘This video was of great quality and so I am confident that when it goes out into the community we will get calls that will enable us to take this case further and inevitably close it,’ he said.
The shooting took place outside a McDonald’s in the 300 block of 37th Street SE, but the victims’ car traveled about a mile north of the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue.
Photos from the scene show Gill’s car riddled with bullets – at least 12 in the windshield and two in the driver’s side window.
Gil’s mother, who did not want to be identified, told ABC7News her daughter is a model and recently ran her own online clothing boutique.
‘I was the only thing he had in the car [at the] Wrong place, wrong time,’ she said. ‘I’m devastated, I’m definitely devastated. I’m lost, I’ve been all over the place.’
Surveillance video of the attack shows the suspects arriving in a white sedan. It is not clear if there was a driver
The footage shows two suspects approach Gill’s car and both shoot through its windshield
The two gunmen were reportedly armed with rifles, although their weapons were not visible in the materials released by police in DC
D.C. Police Assistant Chief Andre Wright (R) said during a news conference that police believe witnesses and the community are the keys to solving the case.
She confirmed that her granddaughter, named Zailee, was successfully delivered and that she was with her at the hospital.
‘She’s beautiful, I went to see her last night and she’s just beautiful,’ she said of the baby. ‘I really hope they catch whoever did this to my daughter,’ she said.
He also created a GoFundMe page to raise money to help deal with the financial burden imposed by the shooting. He described his daughters’ deaths as the result of ‘senseless gun violence’.
In a Facebook tribute to Gill, a relative described her as a shy and caring woman.
I can’t believe this happened to such a shy, quiet, caring young woman. Lord please give my family the strength to get through this. RIP Samia, we will be a part of your kids life and show her these crazy family videos,’ they wrote.
D.C. police have set a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 202-727-9099.
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