Pregnant woman's unborn foetus dies after gunmen storm in and open fire at family party

A 911 recording reveals the chaos and terror in a Ohio family’s home during a Saturday night shooting that reportedly killed two – including a mother’s unborn foetus.

Authorities say a Cincinnati family was hosting a party for the 21-year-old expectant mother when two men dressed in hoodies barged into the house and opened fire.

“It was one after the other, like they went in there and they unloaded as many bullets as they possibly could and then ran off," a neighbour told local news station WLWT News 5.

The pregnant woman's cousin, 24-year-old Autum Garrett, was killed in the shooting. Eight others were injured, including three children ages 11, 8, and 2, a Colerain Township Police spokesman told The Independent.

A 911 call obtained by WCPO Cincinnati begins a with a woman wailing indiscriminately, as others scream in the background.

A man takes the phone and tells the dispatcher: "There's a whole lot of people here shot … We were all in here watching TV; They just ran in and started shooting everybody."

Later, he tells the dispatcher he has been shot too.

"Why would somebody come do this?" he asks.

Another call came from a woman who said she was a neighbour.

“Some lady just banged on my door. She’s been shot,” she told the dispatcher.

Asked for the age of the woman, she responded: “What does it matter? People are dying.”

A friend who had been at the party earlier told WLWT that she returned after hearing the gun shots, which she thought were fireworks. She entered the house to find a young boy lying on the floor, bleeding and crying. She wrapped him in her shirt and applied pressure as she waited for authorities to arrive.

The children are being treated at Cincinnati Children's Medical Centre. Five adult victims are also being treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre. All are expected to live, though one is in serious condition, a police spokesman said.

Family members told multiple media outlets that the pregnant woman was shot in the leg, and that her foetus did not survive. Police have not confirmed this report. According to the family, the mother had planned to reveal the gender of her foetus at the party.

Police currently do not have suspects in the shooting.

“I would like nothing more in my position to be able to stand up here and tell the community they have absolutely nothing to worry about,” Colerain Township Police Chief Mark Denney said at a press conference on Sunday, “but I’m not going to provide statements or information that’s false just to make people feel better.”