Baby dies after pregnant woman hit by stray bullet on bus in Holyoke
UPDATE 10/5/23: Two men were charged with murder a day after the shooting
HOLYOKE - A pregnant woman was shot on a bus in Holyoke on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in the death of her baby.
It happened at the intersection of Maple and Sargeant streets shortly before 1 p.m. State Police said it stemmed from an altercation among three men on the street.
A woman who was on a bus going through the area at the time was hit by a stray bullet. The woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Her baby was delivered but passed away.
"I was shocked, I was devastated, I was terrified, that could have been me," said Jade Nelson, who was on the bus. She was sitting a few rows in front of the victim.
"It was about seven or eight gunshots and then as soon as we finished coming through the intersection, the poor girl she started crying," Nelson said.
The bus pulled over and the riders flagged down police who just got to the scene.
"I ran up the street and I got their attention and told them there was a pregnant girl on the bus that got shot," Nelson said.
The Hampden District Attorney's Office said the three suspects were taken to the hospital and are in custody. None of them have been identified.
Earlier Wednesday, the Holyoke Police Department held a news conference about how much more gunfire their ShotSpotter detection system has picked up since it was installed back in March.
"It traumatizes everyone, it traumatizes the community, so I'm traumatized from you know something to that scale," said Eddie Caisse, of the Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative.
Neighbors say clearly more needs to be done.
"I see we got new garbage cans, but we still can't get the drugs off the streets, that mind boggles me," said Kenya Simmons. "It really does. I literally sit on my deck and wonder how is it that all this is going on and nothing is being done."
Prosecutors say the three suspects taken to the hospital will be charged in the shooting.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey called the shooting "senseless." "Every life lost to gun violence is a tragedy, especially those taken far, far too soon," Healey said.