Jennifer Hernandez, 20, was excited to be a mother and was planning a baby shower when she and her unborn child died the day before, according to family members.
On Friday evening, Hernandez was found shot in a car with her boyfriend in north Harris County. She was eight months pregnant with a boy.
Hernandez was in the passenger seat of a blue Nissan Sentra with her 17-year-old boyfriend, who was shot twice but survived, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Their car had so many bullet holes in the doors and windows. Hernandez was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
According to deputies, Hernandez and her boyfriend were exiting the Shell gas station on Airtex Drive and Ella Boulevard when a driver in a white four-door sedan with tinted windows and a paper license plate sped up beside them and shot into their car.
According to deputies, the white sedan continued eastbound on Airtex Drive towards I-45. According to HCSO Sgt. Ben Beall, the incident may have been caused by road rage, but the driver claimed no prior interaction with the shooter.
“According to the driver, he said there was no interaction before that. They did stop at the gas station just west of us here and he said he has no idea where the vehicle came from. It just came out of nowhere and started shooting at him,” Sgt. Beall said.
Hernandez’s family told ABC13 that the soon-to-be mother was looking forward to the future and planning to open a nail salon. Her child would be the family’s first grandchild and nephew. They want whoever did this to face consequences.
Anyone with information about Jennifer Hernandez’s murder is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 713-274-9100, or they can remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).
A family member has set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.