Raven Veal: 9-months pregnant mother run over twice with vehicle, shot five times, New Orleans police say
Raven Veal, ,22, a 9-months pregnant woman, was run over twice and shot up to five times on November 9, 2016, allegedly by her unborn child's father, according to New Orleans police.
Raven Veal, 22, from the Algiers section of New Orleans, Louisiana, was trying to work it out with her her unborn baby's father. They were having an argument on November 9 when things went completely wild.
The fight escalated, then the father did the unthinkable: He tossed Veal's 3-year-old girl out of the car, according to family members, who talked to local media.
The man stopped the car but was apparently still infuriated: When Veal got out of the car he allegedly hit her with the vehicle, then allegedly hit her again, according to WWLTV. But what her family can't wrap their heads around is the fact that he then allegedly pulled out a pistol and shot her four to five times.
"I was sitting right there on the neutral ground. I hear 'pow pow pow pow pow!' I ran. I didn't know which way the bullets were going," a neighbor who heard the gunfire told Nola.com.
"All I saw was the little car speeding off that way," a witness man told WWLTV. "If you can't get along, get on," he said. "You go one way, let her go another way. You ain't got to beat her up or run over her or nothing like that, shoot her."
To make matters worse, another witness said that Veal loudly begged for her life, pleading with the man not to shoot her.
"There was loud pleas of help from her that started maybe over there and kept getting stronger, stronger," neighbor Keith Robert told the TV station.
According to police, blood stains stretched almost a block long, an indication of a prolonged ordeal for Veal.
As for the child, a 3-year-old, she was OK after being flung from the vehicle.
"She was ok, just in shock," a witness told the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper. "She was just scared."
At a candlelight vigil, friends of Veal were at a loss for words.
Family and friends of Raven Veal, a pregnant mother who was killed in Algiers last week, held a candlelight vigil Sunday evening to commemorate the life of the 22-year-old.
"Raven was the most humble, beautiful and (had a) beautiful spirit. She was loyal. She was honest," friend Ernisha Mercadel told WDSU. She was just very loving and caring. And for her to lose her life the way she did, is -- just nothing. Just nothing. I don't have any words. I'm speechless," Mercadel said.
A GoFundMe account set up Veal's mother says that her youngest daughter was her "little cupcake" with eyes "like the ocean."
On November 9, 2016, Raven's heart shattered as she tried to walk away from a confrontation that lead to her 3 years old daughter being thrown out of a car. Trying to protect herself and her kids, Raven tried to get away but couldn't. She was hit and rolled over by an automobile then shot multiple times and left for dead as her young daughter watched from near by crying. The gunman then turned the gun to Ra'liyah who escaped the gunfire with help from a bystander. As a result, Ra'Liyah is left not only physical, injured from the injuries from her being thrown out the vehicle, but parentless as her dad was murdered two years prior. Although I look at Ra'Liyah and thank god she's still here I'm just left with one question. How? How could a man kill his pregnant girlfriend, unborn son and attempt to kill her daughter as well?
When you give birth to your children you never think to prepare for their death. You do all you can for them, you raise them, love them and give them your all. As a mother, that's what I did. Although I may have fell short on finances and failed to get insurance for Raven, I overcompensated with my time and love!
