A Pennsylvania man is accused of shooting dead his child’s mother and her pregnant friend on Saturday in what was described by police as a “brutal scene.”
Victims Tiara Rodriguez-Diaz, 20, and Kimberly Ortiz-Zayas, 21, who was five months pregnant, were both allegedly killed by 23-year-old Mamadou Kallie, the Chester County District Attorney and Valley Township police said on Tuesday.
The double-murder occurred 30 minutes after police responded to a domestic dispute between Kallie and Rodriguez-Diaz, who was in the car with the her 22-month-old baby she shared with him.
Rodriguez-Diaz was found later that night in her car with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the hospital. Her friend, Ortiz-Zayas, was found on the side of the road after officers followed a trail of blood from the car, authorities said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene and police later learned she was pregnant.
“Valley (Township) experienced a horrific double murder on a holiday weekend when family and friends were supposed to enjoy summer’s unofficial start. Instead, two young women and an unborn child are dead,” Valley Township Police Chief Glenn Eckman said in a statement.
“It was a brutal scene for law enforcement to process, but I thank all our partners for their collaboration in finding and arresting the defendant,” said Eckman.
Missing from the car when police arrived was Rodriguez-Diaz’s and Kallie’s child, though the child was later found with family members of Kallie, authorities said.
Following the shooting, Kallie, who was driving a black Ford Edge, carjacked a black Infiniti from a person he knew at gunpoint, prosecutors alleged. At first he forced the driver to take him to Philadelphia before kicking him out of the car, authorities said.
That victim flagged down another driver and then called police, setting off a police pursuit for Kallie that ended with him surrendering, but not before he put a gun to himself, prosecutors said.
“The senseless and tragic murders of two women and an unborn child are outrageous. Domestic violence continues to plague our communities and homes, and its ripple effect has life-altering consequences for too many people,” District Attorney Deb Ryan said in a statement. “We will do everything in our power to hold Mamadou Kallie accountable for these premeditated, intentional, and cold-blooded murders.”
Before Kallie allegedly shot both women, Coatesville police responded to a domestic incident between Rodriguez-Diaz and Kallie while they were visiting friends.
From her car, Rodriguez-Diaz told officers everything was fine, though Kallie, who was driving the black Ford, became agitated while she was questioned, police said. Eventually the police cleared the scene once she drove off, authorities said.
Kallie faces two first-degree murder charges, the murder of an unborn child, and other charges related to the aftermath of the shootings.