A pregnant photographer has been shot dead near her studio.
María Fernanda Gastélum Osorio, 31, was taken to a private hospital by her husband after suffering five gunshot wounds.
Doctors performed an emergency caesarean, but her baby also died despite efforts to save it.
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The suspect approached her near her workplace in Los Mochis in Sinaloa State, Mexico, and opened fire at around 9.30am on Monday (28 Sep).
Fernanda had been working as a photographer while also pursuing her career as a primary school teacher.
She was reportedly seven months pregnant and was expecting her first child with her husband.
Sinaloa state prosecutor Claudia Zulema Sánchez Kondo said Fernanda suffered one gunshot wound to the chest, one to an arm and three to the head.
“This was a direct attack against her,” she said, adding that the case was being investigated as femicide.
She said the suspect appeared to have entered the property while pretending to be someone else.
Investigators have obtained photographs and video footage related to the attack in an effort to identify the suspected killer.
Authorities have also located the vehicle allegedly used by the attacker to escape, as reported by Need To Know.
Sánchez Kondo said investigators were initially pursuing a possible personal motive, but stressed that the investigation was continuing.
The prosecutor also said the attack did not appear to have been motivated by robbery, instead describing it as a targeted assault.
Fernanda was remembered by relatives and friends as passionate about both teaching and photography.
Her family and women’s groups have called for justice following the killing.
No suspect has been publicly identified or reported as arrested.
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