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Pregnant woman fatally shot near Raleigh mall; baby survives

A Raleigh man was charged Sunday in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, who was six months pregnant. Police said the baby survived.

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RALEIGH, N.C. — A Raleigh man was charged Sunday in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, who was six months pregnant. Police said the baby survived.

The shooting happened about 9:40 p.m. Saturday in the 3600 block of Sumner Boulevard behind Party City, which is near Triangle Town Center.

Raleigh police said Kimberly Dianne Richardson, 25, died early Sunday at WakeMed. Her baby, a girl, survived and was at the hospital.

Daniel Joseph Steele, 25, was found at his home on Snowcrest Drive shortly after the shooting and was arrested. He was charged with first-degree murder.

A manager at Zales in Triangle Town Center said Richardson worked there. Steele previously worked as a security guard at the mall. He resigned in October.

Police on Sunday released the 911 call that Richardson apparently made. In a halting voice, she told a call-taker, "I've been shot," and gave her location. Then she said, "I can't talk."

When the call-taker asked what happened, she said, "He shot me."

No other information was released.

Paige Bragdon remembered Richardson as someone with a deep love for faith and music.

"She was really, really happy (about being pregnant)," said Bragdon, who met Richardson while on the praise team at their church. "Really, really happy. I sent her a text the day before she went to find out the sex of the baby and told her how happy I was for her and how excited I am."

Bragdon said she did not want to talk about the circumstances surrounding her friend's death.

"I'd rather focus more on who she was as a person and how much she pursued the Lord and I want to focus on the good of that baby," she said. "The good that came out of that baby and how much the Lord protected that baby."

A GoForward account has been opened in her honor.

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