Pregnant mom killed after being shot in the head by stray bullet
Tamika Haynes, 27, was the mother of an eight-year-old son and three months pregnant with her second child.
A 27-year-old pregnant woman died in Hemet, California after being struck in the head by a stray bullet.
Tamika Haynes was sitting in a car, an innocent bystander as a fight broke out nearby in the street. The young woman — who was the mother of an eight-year-old son and three months pregnant with her second child — was airlifted to a trauma center following the shooting, but she died of her injuries.
A relative, Stevlyn Sandridge, told KTLA “a piece of us died yesterday with her.”
“She has a lot of family, she’s very loved, and we don’t understand the details or anything,” Sandridge said. “We don’t know anything about why she was killed and why was they shooting into a crowd of innocent people.”
The family was already grieving the death of Haynes’ 13-year-old sister, who passed away only one week ago after collapsing.
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Five people, including Haynes, were injured in the Hemet shooting that happened when two women started fighting just before 6 p.m. Tuesday. According to investigators, more than a dozen rounds were fired from multiple firearms.
Several wounded people were found by officers who were en route, responding to calls about the fight. Upon reaching the scene, they found Haynes and two other injured people, including a man with serious injuries to his leg and back.
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“We will definitely want to see someone held accountable for what happened to her,” Sandridge told KTLA. “She was taken away from her family.”
Hemet is located in Riverside County, California and has a population of nearly 80,000 people. While the city has had issues with gang violence, investigators have said there is not yet an indication that this shooting was gang-related.
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In a successful GoFundMe campaign to support Haynes’ memorial expenses, her loved ones wrote: “If you knew Millie, you knew love. She was vibrant, had no judgment, and took everyone in as a family. She lifted everyone around her with generosity and a pure heart.” Calling her “a selfless person,” they said she’d “always put others before herself.”
“Millie was the bright light in any room she walked in, bringing in pure happiness, good energy, and love!” they wrote. “Someone you could always come to for love and care. If you knew Mille, you knew a true friend.”
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