Kenneth Anderson opens up about his pregnant daughter who was shot by a passenger.
COLLEGE PARK, GA (WGCL) — A pregnant mother was forced to give birth to her baby early after she was shot three times in Georgia, and local police say the gunman was a passenger.
The family considers it a miracle that mother and baby are alive and recovering.
“To be honest, I’m still devastated,” says Kenneth Anderson.
Just after 10 p.m. Saturday, Anderson watched from the window as an Uber driver dropped off his daughter at home on Camp Creek Parkway in College Park, Georgia. But the moment he turns away, he says: “I heard shots.”
When the father returned to see what had happened, his 36-year-old daughter was bleeding on the floor. She had been shot once in the leg and twice in the stomach. Her father and brother came rushing out.
“Whoever you are, wherever you are, introduce yourself,” Anderson urged the shooter during an interview with local media. “They will get you.”
According to police, there was some sort of argument while driving. The mom-to-be used the Uber app to book her ride home. According to her family, the notification informed her that the driver would be in a black car. Instead, a white car appeared.
Eventually, she got in the car, but when they got to their destination, there was some kind of argument about the discrepancy. At the time, police said the driver fired his gun.
After a Caesarean section and emergency surgery, the mother and her baby – born two months prematurely – are recovering in intensive care. Mother woke up on Monday night. Her father says it will be a few more weeks before his daughter and grandchild can come home.
“You and my grandchild are a miracle. God was with them both. In order for them to get through what they are doing, God has already touched my grandchild. He cried, kicked and stuff. And it just really made me smile big. I know they will be fine.
Anderson says he can still hear his daughter being shot.
Uber provided this explanation CNN affiliate CBS46:
“The details surrounding the horrific act of violence against the rider and her newborn are sickening, and our thoughts are [with] them while they recover. We stand ready to assist law enforcement in their investigation.”
Anderson pleaded, “Please put your guns down. I’m 66 and have lived in Atlanta my entire life. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.”
The College Park Police Department appears to know who the driver is based on information available through his Uber profile.
The company told CBS46 that riders and drivers can report any incident through Uber’s Safety Incident Reporting Line, where they investigate problems.
“I won’t be happy until they catch him,” Anderson says.
The family started a fundraiser to help with medical expenses.
