20-Year-Old Jennifer Hernandez, 8 Months Pregnant, Shot and Killed the Day Before Her Baby Shower

Jennifer Hernandez, a 20-year-old Texas woman who was eight months pregnant and had dreams of opening her own nail salon, was shot dead in an apparent road rage incident just one day before her baby shower, reports ABC 13. Hernandez was riding in the car with her 17-year-old boyfriend, who survived despite sustaining two bullet wounds.

The incident took place after Hernandez and her boyfriend stopped at a Shell gas station on Airtex Drive in Houston. There was no apparent motive for the attack, carried out by an unidentified shooter in a vehicle with tinted windows and paper license plates, according to the New York Post.

“They did stop at the gas station,” said Houston County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Ben Beall. “He said he has no idea where the vehicle came from. It just came out of nowhere [and] started shooting at him.” Hernandez was rushed to the hospital, where both she and her unborn child were pronounced dead.

According to People, the family has established a GoFundMe account to cover the necessary expenses.

ABC reports that a witness on the scene, identified only as Rick, rushed to Hernandez’s car after seeing the shooting firsthand. “She was on the phone with her mom and kept saying, ‘I’m not going to make it, Mom,'” he said. “I called 911 and told them [to] get the ambulance because she was shot in the face.”

Rick reportedly heard the shots and turned to see the shooter’s car immediately fleeing the scene. Rick was surprised by how fast their escape was, but conceded, “Understandably, they don’t want to be part of it because they don’t want to be caught for the ignorance they did.” Rick said he did what he could to help Hernandez, but the severity of her injuries were just unsustainable.

However, he assisted Hernandez’s mother in verifying their location. When Hernandez was unable to communicate the information to her mother, Rick took the phone to give her the cross-streets and exact location of her daughter, telling her to hurry.

“She’s telling you she’s not going to make it,” he told Hernandez’s mother. “I am pretty sure she’s not going to make it.”

Another witness, this one anonymous, said they saw Hernandez’s boyfriend wearing a ski mask, although he claimed it was for COVID-19 safety reasons. “It’s black. It covers his head all the way down to his forehead,” said the anonymous witness. “You were only able to see his eyes. It comes all the way down to his chin area.” The boyfriend reportedly begged Rick to help her after the shooting.

Local authorities are exploring all possible leads but, at the time of publishing, no arrests have been made or reported.