Police said the teen’s newborn remained in critical condition after an emergency cesarean section.
SAN DIEGO, CA — A pregnant 17-year-old girl visiting San Diego from Arizona was shot outside a Bay Park vacation rental early Saturday and died at a hospital after doctors delivered her baby, police said.
The shooting has become a homicide case stretching across two states, with San Diego police saying the teen’s boyfriend traveled separately from Arizona, met her outside the rental and shot her. The newborn was delivered by emergency cesarean section and remained in critical condition, police said. The suspect, identified by police as 19-year-old Trevon Williams, was arrested about two hours later near September Street.
San Diego police said dispatchers received several 911 calls at about 1:10 a.m. May 30 reporting gunfire in the 4900 block of Gardena Avenue, a residential area in Bay Park east of Mission Bay. Officers arrived within minutes and found the teen unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head. “Officers immediately initiated life-saving measures for both the victim and her unborn child,” police said in a written statement. Paramedics took her to a hospital, where doctors performed the emergency delivery. The teen died despite medical efforts, police said.
Homicide detectives learned the girl had been visiting San Diego with several family members and staying in a short-term vacation rental, police said. Investigators said Williams, also from Arizona, had traveled to San Diego separately and met the teen outside the rental before the shooting. Police said he ran on foot into a nearby canyon after the gunfire. Officers found him hiding near the 4900 block of September Street at about 3 a.m. and took him into custody without incident. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the time of arrest, police said. Authorities had not publicly released the victim’s official name as of Sunday.
The case drew attention in Arizona because it followed other recent shootings involving pregnant teenagers in the state. Arizona’s Family reported that friends identified the San Diego victim as Jariah, though police had not confirmed that name. The station also reported she was the third pregnant Arizona teenager shot in about two weeks. In Buckeye, 16-year-old Rylee Montgomery and her unborn child were killed May 14, and police accused her on-again, off-again boyfriend in that case. “To bury your baby and your grandbaby all at the same time, it’s soul-crushing,” Amy Montgomery, Rylee’s stepmother, said in an earlier interview.
Police said Williams would be booked into San Diego County Jail on suspicion of murder. Homicide detectives were processing the scene, interviewing witnesses and reviewing evidence, according to the department. Some local reports said additional allegations could be reviewed, including charges tied to the baby’s injuries, but San Diego police listed murder in their public release Saturday. A first court appearance was expected the following week. Prosecutors had not announced a formal complaint by Sunday afternoon, and police had not released a possible motive.
Residents in the Bay Park neighborhood described a quiet area shaken by the early morning shooting. Judy Crawford, who lives nearby, told a local television station, “It’s just very shocking. It’s just so sad.” The shooting happened near homes and short-term rentals, where police cars and investigators remained after sunrise. The victim’s family had traveled from Arizona for what police described as a visit to San Diego. By Saturday evening, the case had spread across Arizona and Southern California news outlets as officials released more details about the arrest and the baby’s condition.
The investigation remained active Sunday, with San Diego homicide detectives handling evidence and witness interviews. Williams was in custody, the teen’s official identity had not been released, and the newborn’s condition remained critical.
Author note: Last updated May 31, 2026.