Genesis Escobar: 7-months pregnant woman, 21, fatally shot when she attempted a carjacking
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: A pregnant woman was shot and killed while attempting to rob someone in Belmont Cragin, Chicago on Monday, March 6. According to a statement from Chicago police, Genesis Escobar, 21, got into a car in the 5200 block of West Montana Street at around 1 pm with the intention of committing a robbery.
According to authorities, shots were fired between the occupants of the car and a person outside. Escobar was shot multiple times, reportedly in her hand, back, and shoulder. The shooters then covered her body in cash and fled after she was thrown out of the car into a nearby intersection. Escobar was seven months pregnant and her friends said she was eager to become a mother, as per Daily Mail.
READ MORE
Pregnant woman found dead after two abduct her and cut open her womb to steal unborn baby
Genesis Escobar and her unborn child were killed
Iris Alvarez, a neighbor, claimed that just before the incident, Escobar had visited her daughter. "She texted my daughter and told my daughter: 'Please help me! I'm in trouble!'" Alvarez said. "But my daughter was sleeping." Soon after, Alvarez and her daughter heard four gunshots and rushed outside to investigate where they found Escobar laying in the street and struggling to breathe. "We looked out the window and seen that the vehicle - someone opened the driver door, walked around the vehicle, pulled the body out and drove off," she said.
According to witnesses, Escobar was part of a gang that attempted to rob a car and exchanged gunfire during the altercation. "They threw a bunch of money on top of her. I don't know if she was into some kind of trouble. I don't care how much trouble you're in, I feel that for a person to do that to someone, doesn't have a heart," said Alvarez.
Police say Escobar was transferred to Illinois Masonic Medical Center where she was later declared dead. She was seven months pregnant, and friends told reporters that the baby did not survive. "When we got to the hospital, unfortunately, the baby was not able to be saved and she passed away as well," said Alvarez.
Crime rates in Chicago in 2023
According to the most recent report from the Chicago Police Department, rapes have increased by 16 percent this year compared to 2022. Along with aggravated assault, robberies have increased by 13% and 11% respectively. Theft overall has increased in Windy City by 31%, while vehicle thefts in particular have increased by 143%. The only category to experience decreases as homicides, which fell by 18%, and gunshot events, which fell by 8%. Violent crime as a whole is up 52% since 2022, and up 102% when compared to 2021.