BALTIMORE _ The baby girl who was delivered after a pregnant woman was shot and killed in Columbia last week has died, Howard County police announced Thursday.
County police said officers responded to Dovecote Drive for a report of several shots fired about 11 p.m. last Friday. Rabiah Ahmad, 30, was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where she died, police said.
She was 28 weeks pregnant, and doctors were able to deliver the baby girl, Ahja, who was in critical condition until Wednesday, when police said she died.
No one else was injured in the shooting, according to police.
"She was an amazing spirit," Ahmad's boyfriend, Kadeem Bailey, said Saturday. He confirmed he was present the night of the shooting but declined to comment further.
Bailey confirmed that Ahmad was Muslim, though police said Monday and again Thursday there is no evidence to suggest the shooting was a hate crime. The shooting took place on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the Day of Sacrifice. The motive remains under investigation.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and the Howard County Police Department are offering separate rewards for information about the killings; police are offering $10,000 and CAIR is offering $5,000.
Howard police are urging residents in the area to check their doorbell or security cameras for any activity around 11 p.m. Friday. Anyone who may have seen or heard something in the area, or has any other information, is urged to contact police at (410) 313-STOP or HCPDCrimeTips@howardcountymd.gov. Callers may remain anonymous.
A GoFundMe has been set up in honor of Ahmad and Ahja at gofundme.com/f/kiyomi-house.
