Marlazia Jones-Mattox was 35 weeks pregnant when she was shot and killed.
A baby boy has been saved by doctors who were able to deliver him after his pregnant mother was shot and killed in an Ohio home in what investigators believe was a robbery that turned deadly.
Police responding to a 911 call found the grisly scene in which three people were shot at 670 S. Hague Ave. in Columbus at 11:43 p.m. Monday, officials said.
Keith Williams III, 23, died at the scene, while 21-year-old Marlazia Jones-Mattox, who was 35 weeks pregnant, was still alive when police arrived.
Emergency responders rushed the expectant mother to Mt. Carmel West Hospital, but she was unable to be saved.
Doctors delivered her baby boy and he was transferred to Nationwide’s Children’s Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
Loved ones took to social media to grieve the loss of Williams and Jones-Mattox and to ask for prayers for Jones-Mattox’s newborn son.
“Lord, wrap your arms around the baby please,” one friend wrote on Facebook. “You saved the baby for a greater purpose, Lord; let your will be done.”
A second man was also shot at the home, and he was brought to Mt. Carmel West Hospital in very critical condition, police said.
Police have not released his identity.
No suspects had been identified as of Tuesday, but detectives said they were searching for a silver or grey mid-sized SUV seen leaving the scene.
The vehicle may have bullet holes in its passenger side, police said.
Police believe the shooting occurred during a robbery inside the home, WTTE-TV reported.
The murders of Williams and Jones-Mattox were the second and third homicides in Columbus this year.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Columbus Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.
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