One of two women fatally shot was pregnant, family says | Biloxi Sun Herald

On Sunday, two women were fatally shot multiple times by  two unknown assailants, officials said.

According to Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart, Janis Nicole Evans, 23, and Stephanie Denise Mejia, 29, were both pronounced dead of gunshot wounds on Ventura Drive in Jackson around 3:30 on Sunday. Two black males wearing dark clothing were seen fleeing the scene, Commander Tyree Jones said.

Chief Lee Vance said one of the women was shot in the car and appears to have been shot in the back of the head with a .45-caliber weapon. The other woman was shot in the face and the chest, and the other weapon was a 9mm.

Family members have told reporters that Evans was three months pregnant. If that's the case, Mississippi code dictates that the shooting of the two women becomes a triple homicide.

"I feel like as a community, we lost yesterday. You've got two families who have lost loved ones, we've got at least two others that have committed crimes that are basically unspeakable, and a community that's shocked. These type crimes put fear into everybody," Vance said. "It's a serious blow for those directly involved, a serious blow for the community, a serious blow for the city."

Vance said at this point police are awaiting the outcome of the autopsy to confirm the pregnancy, and that the potential unborn child has been a subject of conversation as investigators have weighed the case.

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