Authorities are looking for the shooter and a Lake Highlands congregation is shaken after a shootout in its parking lot resulted in a pregnant woman being shot Sunday, police say.
The woman, who was eight months pregnant, was taken to a local hospital, where doctors delivered the baby, police said. The mother and baby are both in stable condition.
The incident happened at about 1 p.m Sunday outside Praise Embassy, near the intersection of Audelia Road and Forest Lane. Some members were inside on the second floor while others, including the pregnant member, began to walk home. Police said the woman was caught in the crossfire of a shootout.
“I was scared, but I knew God would not fail,” said the pastor’s wife Mo Olajuyigbe.
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The pregnant church member in her late 20s was due Monday, she added.
“Someone rushed over and said, 'Hey, hey, hey we have a member on the floor,'” Olajuyigbe said.
The church leader initially thought the woman was going into labor.
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“It was really chaotic. People were yelling, screaming because she was in her own pool. The blood was really intense,” she said. “I saw the blood gushing and, you know, she kept saying, 'Oh, my baby.'"
Police said an unidentified group of men began to shoot at each other in the busy parking lot, before leaving in a black Ford Focus and a champagne-colored Nissan 4-door car.
The woman was hit by a stray bullet.
Emergency responders rushed her to the hospital where she underwent an emergency C-section.
“It narrowly missed the baby,” Olajuyigbe said.
Pastor Olawole Olajuyigbe’s car, which was in the parking lot, was also hit by a bullet.
It knocked off the Lexus emblem on the back.
“It hit my husband’s car, not even another church member,” she said.
The two church leaders said the bullet lodged inside of the victim’s leg and would not need to be removed.
“It was a miracle for a gunshot to enter here and it go through the back of the muscle without damaging any veins or anything else inside. Even doctors could not believe it,” he said.
Mother and baby are doing great, they said.
Praise Embassy said the month of June will be a month of thanksgiving.
“Baby is out. It’s a bouncing baby boy! Mom is happy,” Olajuyigbe said. “That baby weighs 6.8 pounds. Beautiful baby. Full hair.”
This congregation, unwavering in its faith, has just one request for those who nearly took two innocent lives.
“All we need around here is peace,” Olajuyigbe said.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact Dallas police Det. Leland Limbaugh at 469-849-3758 or leland.limbaugh@dallascityhall.com and refer to case number 095091-2021.
