A pregnant mother in Georgia was shot and killed last week after arguing with another woman.
24-year-ol Kyla Cooper had recently learned she was expecting another baby; she was already the mom to a four-year-old and a five-year-old. According to a family member, Cooper had driven to see Rashad Thompson, her boyfriend, to give him the good news — when Arkia Tate arrived.
Thompson and Tate were allegedly also in a relationship, and the two women began fighting.
Ronald Countee, Cooper’s father, confirmed with Fox 5 Atlanta that she was pregnant. “There’s no justification for this whatsoever. I don’t see it. This girl is simply going over there to establish a pregnancy,” he said. “I guess the girl who the house belonged to came pulling in and sees them arguing. They said my daughter never even had a chance to defend herself. The girl just pulled a pistol out and shot her right in the head, point blank range.”
Keshama Smith witnessed some of the murder, and said the argument got worse when Cooper said she was pregnant. “I just heard arguing in the bed; I was laying down. So I heard a lot of arguing, and then I heard some thumps, and then I heard the shot,” she told 11Alive.
READ: Pregnant woman murdered after repeatedly asking police for help
After the shooting, Tate fled the scene. “And I look out the window and was a car flying down the street with lights off… that’s when I knew something was off,” Smith said in another interview, this time with WSBTV. After that, Smith said she and other neighbors came outside and tried to help Cooper, but by then, there was nothing that could be done to save her.
Research has repeatedly found that homicide is a leading cause of death for pregnant women, exceeding even the three leading obstetric causes of death: high blood pressure, hemorrhage, and sepsis.
An autopsy is being performed, and detectives are still investigating what exactly happened. Tate has been charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
