Pregnant woman going to birthday party shot dead in ‘targeted’ drive-by
A pregnant woman who was heading to a birthday party was shot dead in what is suspected to be a targeted drive-by shooting.
Marissa Perez, 25, was in the passenger’s seat of a car as her father was driving to pick up a birthday cake when the shooting occurred around 7.30pm on Thursday.
She was due to give birth in six months.
‘Marissa was the most loving daughter, sister, cousin and friend. Marissa was expecting the biggest blessing, a baby in June,’ states a GoFundMe page set up for her.
‘Anyone who knew Marissa knew she was the most loyal, loving, outgoing, and strongest person.’
A driver pulled up next to Perez and her father at the intersection of Artesia and Pioneer boulevards in Artesia, California, and fired into their vehicle, her mother Sandra Tolentino told KABC. Perez was struck multiple times, including once in the head.
Perez’s family said investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department do not think it was a random act. The suspects or suspects remain at large.
‘She was 25. She was about to be a mother in five more months. She was so happy,’ Tolentino told the TV station.
‘She always cared for so many people. Her heart was literally on her sleeve every day.’
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