Road Rage Turns Violent as Pregnant Woman Is Shot While Driving Home With Toddler

A pregnant woman was allegedly shot while driving home from a prenatal appointment with her 2-year-old toddler and partner after a road rage confrontation escalated to gunfire in St. Louis., according to investigators.

A family was traveling in St. Louis on May 17 when the incident began, authorities said. Investigators allege that two vehicles followed the family after an initial confrontation over reckless driving, leading to a shooting that left the pregnant woman injured.

The defendant, Anthony Lee-Armstrong, 19, is facing multiple felony charges in connection with the incident, according to prosecutors. Lee Armstrong is charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon, and property damage, according to court documents obtained by People.

Investigators said the family was traveling near Russell Boulevard and South Jefferson Avenue when a black Honda sedan and a Volkswagen sedan allegedly cut them off while entering a Quick Trip parking lot.

According to a probable cause affidavit, the male victim followed one of the vehicles into the parking lot and confronted the drivers about reckless driving before returning to his car and leaving the area. Authorities allege the two vehicles then followed the family, at times driving into oncoming traffic. When the family attempted to make a U-turn, gunshots were fired, the affidavit said

The woman, who investigators said was 11 weeks pregnant, told officers she heard multiple gunshots before feeling pain in her back. She suffered a gunshot wound to the upper left back. The male victim sustained shrapnel injuries to his shoulder and chin, investigators said. The family’s vehicle also sustained significant ballistic damage.

The woman called 911 after the shooting and reported that “two black vehicles occupied by white males just shot up her vehicle.” She told dispatchers she had been shot, that the male victim may have been injured, and that a child had been inside the vehicle during the incident, according to the probable cause statement.

When officers arrived, both adults were injured and transported to a hospital for treatment, investigators said. A video obtained from a nearby business showed gunfire coming from the driver’s seat of a Volkswagen sedan while the victim’s vehicle drove ahead. A license plate reader helped identify Lee-Armstrong.

The woman later identified Lee-Armstrong in a lineup as the driver of the Volkswagen and the person she said fired the shots. Authorities also allege that Lee-Armstrong made racist statements toward the couple during the incident.