PHOENIX — A teenage girl from Arizona was shot and killed while 8-months-pregnant, according to the San Diego Police Department.
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Family identified the 17-year-old as Jariah Edwards.
“She was genuinely like one of the sweetest people,” Edwards’ aunt, who asked not to be identified, told 12News. “She just recently started growing into herself and becoming, you know, who she was supposed to be.”
Edwards’ aunt said her bright and loving niece was also ambitious and talented.
She was preparing to welcome a baby girl in just a few weeks.
“She was so excited,” her aunt said.
Edwards was on a trip with her family in California when her ex-boyfriend allegedly showed up unexpectedly at the rental home.
Police said they responded to a shooting call in front of the home around 1 a.m. on Saturday. Officers found a pregnant teen had been shot in the head.
Edwards was rushed to the hospital, where her baby was delivered during an emergency C-section. The new mother didn’t survive her injuries.
The baby is in critical condition.
Police said officers found the suspect, identified as Trevon Williams, 21, hiding in a nearby neighborhood with a semi-automatic handgun. He was arrested and is facing several felony charges.
This is the third shooting involving a pregnant teenager from Arizona in the past three weeks.
“Things like this are preventable; they can be stopped before they happen,” Tanner Swanson, a spokesperson for A New Leaf, said.
Homicide and suicide are the leading causes of maternal deaths in the United States, according to a 2025 national study by the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
“There’s a lot of factors, I think, at play that make it a higher-risk situation,” Swanson said.
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Family said Edwards didn’t get the opportunity to name or hold her daughter. They said they’ll always remember the beautiful life that brought her here.
“Her legacy is that her daughter is going to be everything she wanted to be and so much more, and she should be proud of that,” Edwards’ aunt said.
A fundraiser was created to help pay for medical expenses and other essentials for her newborn baby.
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