Charinez Jefferson, 17 and six months pregnant, was shot and killed overnight in the Marquette Park neighborhood. (Credit: CBS)
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CHICAGO (CBS) — The search continues for the gunman who shot and killed a 17-year-old pregnant girl, as her newborn baby clings to life.
Police say she was walking with a group around 10:35 p.m. Tuesday, when a man whom no one in the group knew got out of a car and walked up to them. Then he opened fire, as everyone else scattered.
Bishop Tavis Grant of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition said the killer ignored the teenager’s pleas to spare her life.
“She begged for her life. People who were running from the shooting could hear her crying for her life,” Grant said. “She’s crying, ‘Don’t kill me!’”
Doctors at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn were able to save her baby, named Kahmani Jabez Mims, with an emergency Caesarean section. But Charinez did not survive.
As the search continues for the killer, community leaders are calling on people to tell police what they know.
Community Activist Andrew Holmes said, “We want the shooter turned in. If he killed last night, guess what? He’s going to kill again.”
Meanwhile, the baby remained in critical condition at Advocate Christ as of the latest report. Charinez’s mother, Debbie Jefferson, said she believes her new grandson will pull through.
“He could be blind. He could probably have retardation, you know, they named a couple other things. I’m a true believer that he’s going to be OK, because if God wanted him, I think He would have taken him when He took my daughter,” Debbie Jefferson said.
Anyone with information about Charinez’s murder is urged to call Wentworth Area Detectives at 312-757-8380. Anonymous tips also can be reported to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP or the 800 UTELLUS tip line (800-883-5587).
