Add The California Post on Google A 22-year-old pregnant mom has been declared brain dead and taken off life support after being shot in the head outside her apartment.
Adriana Jimenez was 16 weeks pregnant and had a six-year-old girl when she was attacked in Canoga Park, California, on August 23.
“That’s the hardest part, knowing the little girl calls out for her mom and cries for her,” Leonardo Ayala, the victim’s uncle told ABC7.
Jimenez and her sister Maria Fernanda Jimenez were sitting in their car, outside of their apartment on Roscoe and Topanga Canyon boulevards, when their attacker walked up to them and shot them.
The shooting happened around 8 a.m., according to police, the LA Times reported. Ayala believes the gunman targeted the car his nieces were in, ABC7 reported.
“It was so tragic. I couldn’t believe it,” he told the station. “Her birthday is on Sept. 11. That day they were going to do the gender reveal for her baby. She was in the front, she was driving the car. Sadly, her baby also died.”
Maria Fernanda suffered two gunshots. One bullet went through her neck, but surprisingly she is expected to be okay. She is still recovering from injuries however, the LA Times reported.
A suspect has been arrested, according to what the family told ABC7.
Walter Francisco Rodriguez Garcia of Gardena, the suspect, was the ex-boyfriend of one of the cousins of the Jimenez sisters. He also operated a barbershop in South L.A.
“The case has nothing to do with gangs,” the uncle told the station, responding to previous reports. “The suspect is someone who is close to the family. He is known to the family. We don’t understand why he made that decision.”
The sisters had gone out with their cousins earlier that morning, the LA Times reported.
Garcia has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, according to the criminal complaint from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Court records demonstrate that he’s pleaded not guilty, according to the LA Times. Once prosecutors found out that the mom died, they said they would up the charges.
Garcia already has a record under his belt. In 2022, he was charged with battery and vandalism, according to court records, the LA Times reported. Records show that he pleaded not guilty in that instance and that he was later acquitted of the charges in a trial.
A GoFundMe was put together to help cover funeral costs incurred by the family.
“Our family never imagined we would find ourselves facing a tragedy of this magnitude,” Vilma Carranza, the victim’s aunt wrote on the page.
“Along with the overwhelming grief, we are now faced with unexpected medical and funeral expenses, the possible repatriation of Adriana’s remains, and the responsibility of making sure her young daughter is supported and cared for during this incredibly difficult time.”
The funds will go to either cremating Adriana or sending her back to El Salvador. “We know that we have to be strong, unite as a family and move past this tragedy,” the uncle told ABC7.
The California Post reached out to LAPD to inquire about whether a motive had been determined for this case, but did not immediately hear back.
