A pregnant Louisiana woman, just days away from giving birth, was killed along with her unborn baby by a group of teenagers who, in the case of a mistaken identity, shot her car.
Kerisha Johnson, 36, was shot and killed early Sunday while trying to collect people from a party in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police said.
Johnson, who was nine months pregnant and “was due to give birth within days,” was found dead in her vehicle by officers responding to reports of gunfire, according to a warrant.
During their investigation, police discovered that the event was an Easter party, attended mostly by teenagers.
Detectives learned that Johnson was approaching the party when “several people” began shooting at her white limousine.
Kerisha Johnson (pictured), 36, was shot and killed early Sunday while trying to collect people from a party in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police said
Johnson (pictured), who was nine months pregnant and “was due to give birth within days,” was found dead in her vehicle by police officers while responding to reports of gunfire, according to a warrant
They all believed she was someone who, according to the warrant, had fired in a similar car earlier near the party.
Johnson tried to escape but sustained injuries and killed her and her unborn child, according to the warrant.
“It was just pointless,” Deanna Williams, a childhood friend of Johnson’s, told Baton Rouge’s ABC affiliate WBRZ. “She was an innocent person.”
Video footage shows the suspected gunmen “raising firearms, pointing them at the victim’s vehicle and then shooting,” according to the warrant, before fleeing the scene.
Baton Rouge police arrested three teenagers in connection with the shooting.
Marques Porch, Gregory Parker and Derrick Curry, all 19, have been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree fetus, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department.
Pictured: Derrick Curry. Three teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree murder of a fetus, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department
Pictured: Gregory Parker. According to the warrant, the teenagers reportedly told investigators they were armed at the time of the incident
Pictured: Marques Porch. Porch allegedly told police he provided the firearms to the other two teenagers before the shooting, according to the warrant. He was shot while fleeing the scene, but his injuries were not life-threatening, police said
They told investigators that according to the warrant, they were armed at the time of the incident.
Porch allegedly told police he provided the firearms to the other two teenagers before the shooting, according to the warrant. He was shot while fleeing the scene, but his injuries are not life-threatening, police said.
The three suspects were being held without bail during a court hearing Monday, officials at the East Baton Rouge Parish Courthouse confirmed to ABC News. They are being held in East Baton Rouge Parish Jail, records from the online jail show.
Prior to his arrest, Porch was a corrections clerk in the West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.
According to a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, he was a correctional officer from June to November 2022 before returning in February as a part-time transportation driver.
He was “terminated immediately” Sunday after his arrest was announced, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.