"Kerisha was the nicest, sweetest person you could ever meet," a friend said.
Trigger Warning: This article mentions descriptions of gun violence which readers may find distressing.
A pregnant woman who was due to give birth just days away was killed by three teenagers in an apparent case of mistaken identity. Kerisha Johnson was found dead in her car after she was fatally shot in the early morning of Sunday, April 16 while trying to pick up partygoers from a “teen party” in Baton Rouge per an arrest warrant obtained by ABC News. The 36-year-old was "due to give birth within several days." Johnson who was in a white sedan attempted to flee but was struck by gunfire, killing her and her unborn child.
9-Months-Pregnant Woman Is Fatally Shot While Picking Up Friends from Party in Case of Mistaken Identity https://t.co/2zoLg3B86y
— People (@people) April 19, 2023
The three teens were allegedly caught on video footage "raising firearms, pointing them at the victim's vehicle and then firing," before fleeing the scene. They are now charged with second-degree murder and first-degree feticide. The teens all "stated that they believed the white car was a vehicle from earlier in the night where [an] occupant had fired a round into the air as it drove past the teen party," the warrant read.
According to PEOPLE, the three 19-year-olds – Marques Porch, Gregory Parker, and Derrick Curry – are currently being held at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Porch allegedly told authorities he was the one who provided the firearms to the other two teens before the shooting, according to the warrant. Porch was shot but sustained non-life-threatening injuries while fleeing the scene, police said. Porch was a corrections officer from June to November 2022, before returning as a part-time employee in February as a transportation driver, according to a West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office spokesperson. He was “immediately terminated” by the sheriff’s office on Sunday following his arrest.
3 teens killed pregnant woman ‘due to give birth within several days’ in tragic case of mistaken identity: Police
— Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) April 19, 2023
Full story here: https://t.co/3PNJo6OsWa pic.twitter.com/85NQX7zEzG
"It was just senseless," Deanna Williams, a childhood friend of Johnson, told Baton Rouge ABC affiliate WBRZ. "Just to know she lost her life [for] nothing. She was an innocent person." Williams fondly called Johnson "the goofiest friend" and "a very sweet person." Williams continued, "She would give you the shirt off her back," adding, "She was just that sweet."
Another friend and classmate of the victim, Crissina Finister, wrote in a local community Facebook group that Johnson had two other children who are now without a mother. "She didn't deserve this," Finister wrote. "Kerisha was the nicest, sweetest person you could ever meet." She would "help anyone she came across because that's just in her," they said adding "If anyone has any information about this incident that transpired please reach out and contact the police."
💔 A TRAGEDY: 36-year-old Kerisha Johnson was shot and killed Sunday while trying to pick people up from a party after dropping them off just moments before. Family members say she was days away from giving birth to a baby girl: https://t.co/Ra4RtLnIYI pic.twitter.com/SI52QClj8q
— WAFB (@WAFB) April 18, 2023
References:
https://people.com/crime/pregnant-woman-louisiana-fatally-shot-picking-up-friends-party/
Cover Image Source: YouTube | ABC 7 Chicago
