Baby delivered after pregnant woman fatally shot on South Side

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Doctors saved a baby after a pregnant woman was shot and killed Sunday evening in the city's South Chicago neighborhood.

Family members said all things considered, the baby is doing well. She was delivered weighing only three pounds.

Family identified the woman as 19-year-old Parasha Beard and said she was 6 months pregnant. Beard also has a four-year-old daughter.

Beard was sitting in a white sedan parked in the 8700-block of South Marquette Avenue around 6 p.m. when police said another vehicle pulled up alongside her and someone inside opened fire.

She was shot in the neck. A 26-year-old man who is the girl's father and was in the car with Beard was shot in the neck and chest. The Chicago Fire Department said he is in critical condition. Police said he is a documented gang member.

Beard was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she died and the baby was delivered.

The despair of losing a child, the joy of gaining a grandchild, all at the same time, is a lot to deal with for Crystal Jones who is mourning the loss of her daughter.

"She was a good outgoing person. She always got her goals set for herself. She was a beautiful girl, just like everybody else's kids," said Jones.

Family members said the baby was named "Miracle" and she is doing well. "Miracle" was originally due in December.

"She is doing so good. She's breathing on her own. She's premature but her lungs are still small but right now I just wanna make sure that she don't have brain damage," said Jones.

Investigators are reviewing a police camera on the corner.

"Clearly I hope they catch the killer because there's cameras right there. They paid all this tax money so I just hope justice will be served," Tinishia Jackson, a family friend, said.

"They don't have no feelings and don't care about nobody unborn child," Jones said. "All the people you would shoot and you would shoot a pregnant woman."

The family believes this is retaliation for an ongoing dispute with neighbors on the block where a memorial is growing.

"I lost one. That's real tough for me to get over then he blessed me with another one," Jones said.

The baby's 26-year-old father, is in critical condition. Police said he was a documented gang member. They are currently reviewing surveillance footage from a city camera to try and identify the shooter. Beard's family believes the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute with others on the block.

As for beard's 4-year-old child, she was sent off to school Monday, not yet knowing of her mother's death.

"I don't know what to tell a four-year-old right now," Jones said. "I'm going to have to explain to her that her momma is not going to pick her up anymore."

A vigil for Beard will be held Monday evening in the same neighbor where she was shot.

No one is in custody in connection with the shooting.