Pregnant Mother of Five Killed in Shooting on Chicago's Dan Ryan Expressway

Jasmine Curry, 25, was shot in the head as she drove southbound on Interstate 90/94 early Wednesday morning

A Chicago father stood before reporters on Wednesday morning and tried to make sense of losing his second child to gun violence within a year.

"Now I've got to bury another child. ... I buried my last-born last year and now I've got to bury my firstborn this year," Pierre Curry told the throng of reporters gathered along the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Nearby, the body of his daughter, 25-year-old Jasmine Curry, remained slumped over the wheel of her blue 2005 Dodge Caravan. She and two passengers were southbound on Interstate 90/94 at about 4 a.m. when shots were fired, Illinois State Police Capt. Luis Gutierrez said.

Curry, a pregnant mother to two girls and three boys, was shot in the head. A female passenger was not injured. That unharmed passenger told authorities there was another person in the minivan -- a man -- who jumped out and ran away before police could respond to the call of shots fired, Illinois State Police spokesman Monique Bond said.

"My heart, my gut, [tells me] it was some crap, gang-banging crap. I just know it," an emotional Pierre Curry said. "She's got five kids. I just found out from my daughter today that she was pregnant."

Curry described his daughter -- "Sade" as she was known -- as a sweet family woman and a hard worker. Wednesday was to be her first day on a new job, he said.

He believes the shooting is somehow related to the killing of his 17-year-old son, Pierce Curry, who was shot in the head while riding in the rear passenger seat of a vehicle last August. Curry said no arrests have yet been made in that case.

"They got to get these fools," he said.

Curry's mother, LaTonia Mardis, said the children were with her when their mother was killed.

"She'd just left me, dropped all her kids off," said Mardis. "I guess the Lord said it was her time and he was ready for her. He didn't want her to suffer no longer so He came and got her."

Authorities couldn't immediately say whether the shots were fired at the van or from inside, but Bond early Wednesday afternoon said another vehicle -- a silver Dodge Intrepid -- may have been involved. She did not have Information about the model year or license plate.

Gutierrez said crime scene investigators were scouring the area for clues and that video footage from Chicago Police Department cameras was being reviewed. There were no arrests in the case as of 2 p.m.

Anyone with information on the case should contact the Illinois State Police at 847-294-4440.

In addition, community activist Andrew Holmes said a $1,000 reward was being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the shooter. Tips can be made by calling 800-883-5583, he said. 

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