KENOSHA, Wis. — A woman and her unborn baby were killed following a shooting in Kenosha late Friday afternoon, according to the Kenosha Police Department.
KPD said in a release they found a car near 65th St. and 13th Ave. with a 22-year-old woman who had been shot inside.
A friend, Taziya La'Shay identified that woman as Amiah Prather and shared this photo with TMJ4.
La'shay says Prather was already a mother to three children, and had planned to name her unborn baby girl Honesti.
The Kenosha Fire Department transported the woman to a local hospital before both she and her unborn child died.
Kenosha police said they are searching for a known male suspect. Police identified him as Lawrence G. Franklin Jr, 25, who is about 5 feet 3 inches and weighs approximately 105 pounds. He is considered armed and dangerous.
TMJ4 does not typically show mugshots in news coverage; however, because Kenosha Police say they're actively looking for this potentially armed and dangerous suspect, we are making an exception.
Area neighbor Giselle Gibson said she, unfortunately, expected the worst when she saw a large police presence Friday. KPD said officers spent hours speaking to witnesses and canvassing the area that night.
"It’s absolutely heartbreaking to me especially being a mother,” Gibson said. “I don’t care what was going on in their lives no — nobody deserves that. Nobody deserves that.”
Filemon Galvan told TMJ4’s Tahleel Mohieldin he got home after the police had already arrived but his mother and niece were home when the shooting happened.
Watch: Pregnant Kenosha woman killed in shooting:
"They said that there was a loud disagreement in the street between a couple — and her sister was there,” he shared. “They were kind of yelling back and forth and before you know it shots rang out."
Another neighbor who didn’t want to be identified told Mohieldin that’s when the victim’s sister ran through their neighborhood, knocking on doors, and pleading for help.
“You lose three lives, that woman — somebody's daughter, somebody's sister — the child, and the [suspect],” Galvan said. “. His mother, and father love him. He threw away his whole life.”
Both Gibson and Galvan offered their condolences to the victim’s family.
“Your family didn’t deserve to go through this, and that beautiful young woman didn’t deserve to lose her life or her unborn child," Gibson said. “I hope you guys seek the justice and retribution that you deserve.”
The Kenosha Police Department encourages anyone with information that may assist our investigators to contact the Kenosha Police Department’s non-emergency phone number at 262-656-1234.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.