According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, the incident occurred on Wednesday night at 7:22 p.m. local time at 2216 18th Ave. South.
A press release from the police department states that after police arrived, they transported an adult woman to a local hospital with serious injuries. In an update to the release published at 8:49 p.m., police announced that the woman, who was identified as 21-year-old K’Mia Simmons, had died as a result of her injuries.
Police said Simmons was riding in the passenger seat of a dark-colored Volvo with a man and her two young children near 22nd Street and 18th Avenue South when someone fired gunshots at them from another car.
“The children were not injured,” police said in the release.
Police did not release the name of the children, nor the man Simmons was in the car with. They have not made any arrests and an investigation is ongoing.
During a press conference on Wednesday, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway spoke about the shooting, saying that Simmons was “not the intended target.” According to Holloway, the children in the car were ages 1 and 2.
“The woman we are talking about is Ms. K’Mia Simmons. She was not the intended target. She was a passenger in a vehicle holdings her 1-year-old baby, with her 2-year-old baby in the back seat when someone fired into her car striking her while she’s holding her 1-year-old baby,” Holloway said during the press conference, adding that several other gunshots struck the car’s back seat and “barely” missed the 2-year-old.
“She was not the intended target, but that bullet struck and killed her, so now those two children do not have a mother, that family doesn’t have a sister, aunt, daughter,” Holloway added.
According to Holloway, the car Simmons and her children were in was stopped at a red light when another car pulled in front of them and “cut them off.” Holloway described the incident as an “ambush” and noted that the suspected shooter was “looking” for the person driving the car.
“Again, it wasn’t a random target, they were going after that driver in that car and they fired into that car,” Holloway said.
A spokesperson for the police department told Newsweek that the driver left the scene shortly after police arrived. During Wednesday’s press conference, Holloway said that police want the driver to come in and speak with officers “to find the person who killed” Simmons.
Holloway added that police spoke to the driver briefly before he left the scene, but as they continue their investigation, they would like to speak with him further about the incident.
Holloway also urged community members to come forward with any possible information, saying that he “wants this person off the street.”
“Not only did he kill Ms. Simmons, but he endangered two babies,” Holloway said. “And I don’t want him out there.”
In addition to Holloway’s plea to the community, the St. Petersburg Police Department posted a photo of Simmons on its Facebook page, saying, “Anyone with information who wishes to remain anonymous is eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.00, please contact crime stoppers.”
