A pregnant woman was hospitalized Saturday after police said she was shot during a domestic dispute at an apartment complex in Riverdale, the latest in a string of cases highlighting the dangers some women face during pregnancy.
Officers responded just before 7 a.m. to the Brooks Crossing Apartments on Taylor Road, where they found a pregnant woman suffering from a gunshot wound, according to the Riverdale Police Department. She was taken to a hospital and was reported to be in stable condition.
Police identified the suspect as Jerell Clark, who remains at large. Authorities said Clark should be considered armed and dangerous and are seeking warrants charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery against a pregnant woman, reckless conduct and cruelty to children.
Officers evacuated nearby residents and deployed tactical units and drones after receiving reports that an armed suspect might be barricaded inside the apartment. When authorities entered the residence, they found Clark had already fled.
The apartment complex where the shooting took place was among 272 of the metro area’s persistently dangerous complexes, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Dangerous Dwellings” investigation tracking serious crimes and other hazards tenants face.
The shooting came less than a week after a pregnant woman and her unborn child were killed in Decatur. Authorities have charged 26-year-old Devin Anthony with murder and feticide in the death Tuesday of 23-year-old Shakiya Pridgen, who family members said was two weeks away from giving birth.
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According to investigators, Anthony was Pridgen’s former boyfriend and the father of her unborn child. He was captured in Riverdale.
While pregnancy is often viewed as a period of heightened care and protection, researchers say it can also be a time of increased vulnerability. Homicide is now considered one of the leading causes of death during pregnancy and the first year after childbirth in the United States, according to a 2025 study published by JAMA Network Open.
The study found that pregnant women experience firearm homicide rates 37% higher than women who are not pregnant.
More than half of pregnancy-associated homicides occur while a woman is still pregnant, and most are linked to intimate partner violence, according to a 2020 study published in the American Journal for Public Health. Black women face the greatest risk, accounting for roughly 55% of pregnancy-associated feticides nationwide, according to the study.
In Georgia, domestic violence remains a persistent concern. The Georgia Commission on Family Violence reported 163 domestic violence-related deaths in 2024, the equivalent of roughly one death every two days.
Anyone with information about Clark’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Riverdale Police Department or call 911.
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