Howard County man arrested for deadly 2020 shooting of pregnant woman and baby
A man was arrested five years after a shooting killed a pregnant woman and her baby in Howard County, according to police.
Edward Robinson, 31, from Columbia, was taken into custody on Wednesday, April 9, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He has been charged with two counts each of first- and second-degree murder.
In July 2020, police said gunshots were fired into a home on Dovecote Drive in Columbia where several people were living. Police said 30-year-old Rabiah Ahmad was shot. She was 28 weeks pregnant at the time.
Ahmad was taken to the hospital, where she died. Doctors delivered her child, Ahja, who also died days later, according to police.
5-year-old cold case solved
Detectives said that bullets found at the scene matched a gun they found in Robinson's home, and now they are testing it to see if it was the murder weapon.
According to court documents obtained by WJZ, investigators said Robinson had a dispute with two people living in the home, and the gunfire was meant to serve as a warning.
Instead, a bullet struck Ahmad, which sent her to the hospital and forced the delivery of her baby girl.
Ahmad's family calls for justice
Weeks after the deadly shooting, Ahmad's family spoke out, hoping for justice to be served.
"You shattered my life," Ahmad's mother Jameelah Ahmad said. "You took my passion: my daughter and my granddaughter."
Ahmad, who had recently moved to Maryland, had been staying at the residence for several months, according to her family. No one else was injured in the shooting.
Police said Ahmad didn't appear to be a target.