Pregnant Georgia Mom Killed Days After Baby Shower as Police Say Gunfire Came From Outside Her Bedroom

A Georgia family that had just gathered for a baby shower is now planning a funeral after police say a pregnant mother was shot inside her bedroom and later died along with her unborn child.

Shakiya Pridgen, 23, was nine months pregnant when officers responded to a shooting in Decatur, Georgia, in the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 16. According to People, she was found with multiple gunshot wounds and taken to a hospital, where she and her unborn baby were pronounced dead.

Authorities later arrested 26-year-old Devin Anthony in Riverdale. He is accused in connection with the shooting and faces charges that include murder, feticide, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to reports citing court and law enforcement records.

Police believe the gunfire came from outside the home.

That detail is what has left the case feeling even more chilling for many readers. This was not a shooting in a parking lot, not a confrontation on a street, not a random public scene that turned chaotic in seconds. Authorities say the shots were fired into a residence while a young mother was inside, close to the end of her pregnancy and only days away from the life she had been preparing to welcome.

A Baby Shower, Then a Nightmare

The timing has made the tragedy especially painful for Pridgen’s family.

Family members said she had just celebrated her baby shower the weekend before the shooting. She was expecting a baby boy, reportedly planned to name him Kyren, and was due very soon. What should have been a final stretch filled with baby clothes, family photos, and last-minute preparations became a crime scene.

Pridgen was also a mother of two young children, ages 1 and 3. Her family told local outlets that the children were near her when the shooting happened, but they were not physically injured. That fact may bring some relief, but it does not erase the trauma of what those children have now lost.

For relatives, the story is not only about one woman’s death. It is about a mother of two, an unborn baby, and a family suddenly forced to raise children through grief. It is also about the kind of violence that reaches into a place where people are supposed to feel safest.

What Police Say Happened in Decatur

According to CBS News Atlanta, the shooting happened at a home in the 3300 block of Peppertree Circle. Officials said Pridgen was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds after the early morning shooting. She was rushed to the hospital, but neither she nor her unborn child survived.

Authorities said Anthony was taken into custody later that same day at a residence on Quail Hunt Drive in Riverdale. The arrest was made with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, according to CBS News Atlanta.

DeKalb County Sheriff Melody Maddox called the violence devastating to both the family and the community. Officials also said Anthony was being held in the DeKalb County Jail without bond.

At this stage, Anthony is accused, not convicted. It was not immediately clear from available reports whether he had entered a plea or retained an attorney.

The Family’s Pain Is Now Public

Pridgen’s loved ones have spoken publicly about the loss, describing a young woman who had been trying to build a stable life for herself and her children.

Her mother reportedly said Pridgen had recently moved into her first apartment by herself and wanted to settle down. That detail gives the case a painful contrast. She was not only waiting for a baby. She was trying to build a home, raise her children, and move into a more independent chapter of adulthood.

Instead, her family is now speaking about justice, remembrance, and responsibility. They have also set up support for her surviving children, who will now grow up with stories, photos, and memories instead of their mother’s daily presence.

That is the part of the story that stays with people. A headline can say “pregnant mother killed,” but behind those words is a 23-year-old woman with small children, a baby shower, a chosen name for her unborn son, and a family that expected joy, not a double loss.

The Charge of Feticide Adds Another Layer

One of the charges listed against Anthony is feticide. In cases involving the death of an unborn child, prosecutors may bring separate charges depending on state law and the facts alleged by investigators.

That makes this case legally and emotionally complex. Authorities are not only investigating the killing of Pridgen, but also the death of her unborn baby. For the family, that distinction is not abstract. They have spoken about the child as a baby boy; they were already preparing to love.

The legal process will now have to sort through evidence, charges, court filings, and any defense response. But for the family, the human reality has already arrived. Two lives are gone, and two young children have been left without their mother.

A Home Became the Scene of Unthinkable Violence

The most disturbing part of the case may be where police say the gunfire came from. Investigators believe shots were fired into the home from outside.

That detail turns the story from a general crime report into something that feels deeply personal to many readers. A bedroom is supposed to be a private space. It is where children fall asleep, where mothers rest, where families shut the door against the outside world.

When violence crosses that line, it shakes more than one household. It unsettles neighbors, parents, apartment communities, and anyone who has ever assumed that being inside means being safe.

For Pridgen’s family, the question is not just how this happened. It is how a moment so close to new life could become a moment of death.

A Case That Will Be Watched Closely

The criminal case is still developing, and more details may emerge as court proceedings continue. Investigators, prosecutors, and defense attorneys will determine what can be proven in court.

For now, the publicly reported facts are stark. A 23-year-old pregnant mother was shot in Decatur. Her unborn baby died too. A 26-year-old man was arrested and charged. Police say the gunfire came from outside the residence. Two young children survived the shooting, but lost their mother.

That combination is why the case is spreading beyond Georgia. It carries the emotional weight that often makes local crime stories national. It involves motherhood, children, pregnancy, alleged targeted violence, and the terrifying idea that danger can come through a bedroom wall or window before a family even has time to react.

As relatives prepare to keep Pridgen’s name alive, the court process will move at its own pace. But the grief has already moved faster than any docket. One weekend, a family celebrated a baby shower. Days later, they were mourning a mother and the son she never got to hold.

Anyone experiencing domestic violence can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233. Calls are confidential and available 24 hours a day.