A pregnant woman has died after being shot in Columbia, Maryland. The baby she was carrying is alive in critical condition after being delivered.
Police officers responded to the 6600 block of Dovecote Drive around 11 p.m. Friday for the a report of gunshots, according to the Howard County Police Department.
Police said bullets were fired into a house at that location from the outside, and one round struck Rabiah Ahmad, a 30-year-old pregnant woman who was staying at the residence.
Ahmad was transported to the University of Maryland Medical Center’s R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where she later died.
Ahmad, who was 28 weeks pregnant, had her baby delivered prematurely by doctors, according to police.
No one else was hurt in the shooting, said police.
NEWS RELEASE: #HoCoPolice investigating shooting in Columbia on Friday night in which a woman was struck in a residence. Anyone with information is asked to call 911. Release (PDF): https://t.co/WG3KcgW6fD pic.twitter.com/AaWXUH9Iaw
— Howard County Police Department (@HCPDNews) August 1, 2020
Detectives are investigating the circumstances of the shooting and trying to determine if someone else in the residence may have been targeted. Police said they do not have any suspect information so far.
The Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, known as CAIR, condemned the shooting of Ahmad in a statement and are urging anyone with information about the incident to notify local police.
“Our thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones, and especially with her infant who will never get to meet his or her mother,” Director Zainab Chaudry said.
Police are offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information in the case and asking anyone with information to contact them at 410-313-7867 or HCPDCrimeTips@howardcountymd.gov.
They are also urging residents in the area to check their doorbell or security cameras for any activity around the time of the shooting.
A map of where the shooting happened is below.
This is a developing story, stay with WTOP for the latest.
