Police ask for help finding gunman who killed 21-year-old pregnant woman, shot 2 kids in car

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.

July 17, 2018, 3:11 PM

A 21-year-old pregnant woman was killed when she and two children were shot at a Florida intersection, in broad daylight. Police are now pleading with the public to help find the gunman.

The pregnant woman, Imelda Francois, was driving with five others in the car when they came under gunfire just before 3 p.m. Monday in Pine Hills, outside Orlando, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Francois was shot multiple times and died from the injuries, the sheriff's office said.

PHOTO: A car with a bullet hole in the windshield sits at the scene of a shooting in Pine Hills, Fla., that killed a pregnant woman and injured two children on July 16, 2018.
A car with a bullet hole in the windshield sits at the scene of a shooting in Pine Hills, Fla., that killed a pregnant woman and injured two children on July 16, 2018.
WFTV
PHOTO: Police investigate the scene of a shooting in Pine Hills, Fla., that killed a pregnant woman and injured two children on July 16, 2018.
Police investigate the scene of a shooting in Pine Hills, Fla., that killed a pregnant woman and injured two children on July 16, 2018.
WFTV

Two children, 22-month-old Kameren Williams and 13-year-old Dyanna Laurent, were also shot and injured. The sheriff's office said their injuries were not life threatening.

"As a father and as a grandfather, whenever you see incidents like this occur, it’s emotional for the entire community," Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said, reported the Orlando Sentinel.

PHOTO: Orange County, Fla., Sheriff Jerry Demings makes a statement about a shooting in Pine Hills, Fla., that killed a pregnant woman and injured two children on July 16, 2018.
Orange County, Fla., Sheriff Jerry Demings makes a statement about a shooting in Pine Hills, Fla., that killed a pregnant woman and injured two children on July 16, 2018.
WFTV

The three other passengers -- a 21-year-old man, a 15-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy -- were not injured, sheriffs added.

Authorities are looking at a possible motive, including whether the victims were targeted.

The gunman, who fled, was with at least one other man in the car, the sheriff's office said. The car was described by witnesses as a white, older-model Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

La’Shonta Iseley, who lives down the street from where the incident occurred, told the Orlando Sentinel it is a quiet area.

"In two years, I haven’t seen anything like this," she told the newspaper.

Police asked anyone with information to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477). A reward up to $5,000 is available for information leading to an arrest.