Chicago

Doctors Save Baby After Pregnant Woman Killed on South Side

Doctors were able to save a baby girl's life after she was born prematurely when her mother was shot and killed at six months pregnant in a drive-by shooting on Chicago's South Side.

Authorities say 19-year-old Parashay Beard was sitting in a car outside her home in the 8700 block of South Marquette Avenue just after 6 p.m. Sunday when a gunman pulled up and opened fire. She was hit in the neck by the gunfire, police said.

Beard was in the vehicle with a 26-year-old man at the time, who family said was her boyfriend. The man was also shot in the chest and neck and left critically wounded. Police say the man has documented gang ties. 

Both victims were rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where Beard was pronounced dead and her baby was delivered.

Family members told NBC 5 that the baby girl, who they are calling a miracle, is in critical condition but they are just grateful for her survival.

"It's a blessing," Beard's cousin, Tinishia Jackson, said. "That's all I can say."

The child was born three months premature, according to her family. Beard was due to give birth in December.

"I was happy they didn't get to take two lives," Jackson added.

Beard was also the mother to a 4-year-old daughter, family members said. She worked at Portillo's restaurant in suburban Skokie while attending the Chicago Excel Academy of Southwest.

Beard's's mother told NBC 5 that she and her sister plan to take in and raise both children.

“She was a loving child," Beard's aunt, Sandy Jones, told NBC 5. "She went to school, she worked ... And they just took her life."

No one is in custody for the deadly shooting. Police say they have only a vague description of the gunman.

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