A 29-year-old pregnant woman was gunned down while parked in her car in Englewood on the South Side Wednesday night, Chicago police said.
Police are searching for two shooters who got out of their car, approached Derricka Patrick, and reportedly started shooting into the vehicle. The incident happened around 7 p.m. in the 7400-block of South Vincennes Avenue, Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Thursday, ABC 7 Chicago reported.
Patrick was in the car with her 15-year-old niece when she returned home to pick up a cake. After hearing several gunshots, the teen quickly rushed outside and found her aunt slumped over at the wheel, according to FOX 32.
“I’ll never be OK. They took my sister,” Dorothy Patrick said.
The expectant mother was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she and her unborn child were pronounced dead, police said.
The youngest of five girls and one younger brother, Patrick’s sister, said the family was inseparable. However, the family faces a harsh reality after the heartbreaking loss of their beloved sister.
“I just want my sister back,” Patrick said through tears.
Devonta Anderson, Derricka’s cousin, said she was on her way to his birthday celebration when she was killed.
“She was on the way to me, and she never made it,” he said. “My heart is shattered in a million pieces.”
Patrick, a well-known hairstylist, was pregnant with her second child, and her mother said she was excited about having the baby in July. The 29-year-old is also a mother to a 9-year-old girl.
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“My baby didn’t deserve this. She didn’t do nothing to nobody. For somebody to come and snuff her out and take her life like that, I’m just upset about it. I don’t appreciate it,” said Patrick’s mother, Christine Blanton.
“She was happy,” Dorothy Patrick said. “She was happy because her daughter is nine, so she wanted a boy. She said her baby was her baby J.”
Police said surveillance footage had not been released to the public.
“We have some video evidence that supports that two individuals did this, and we need them identified. We haven’t pushed out any videos yet of those suspects. But we definitely need some help from the community,” Chicago police said.
An autopsy indicated that Patrick died from multiple gunshot wounds. Her death was ruled a homicide, FOX 32 reported.
Chicago police offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to arrests for the murders. The tip line is 833-408-0069.
