Illinois mother, 23, is killed by stray bullet while reading the Bible to her seven-month-old daughter before bed
- Melanie Yates, 23, was shot in the head while reading Bible to her baby daughter at their home in Zion, Illinois, on Saturday
- Yates, a married-mom-of-two, was taken off life support at the hospital Monday
- Police believe Yates was not the intended target; neighbors reported hearing about six shots being fired in the area
- Yates’ husband of five years, Daniel, found her with a gunshot wound to the head after hearing what sounded like loud fireworks
A young mother-of-two from suburban Chicago was reading the Bible to her baby daughter at bedtime when she was killed by what police suspect was a stray bullet that flew into the house and struck the woman in the head.
The incident took place last Saturday at 9pm in the 2800 block of Enoch Avenue in Zion, Illinois, which is located about 50 miles northeast of Chicago.
Lam Calderon said her daughter, 23-year-old Melanie Yates, and her husband, Daniel, were separately getting their daughters ready for bed when a loud bang went off near their home.
Calderon said her son-in-law called out to Yates, asking her whether she heard what to him sounded like loud fireworks, but she did not respond.
Melanie Yates, 23, was fatally shot in the head while reading a story from the Bible to her baby daughter (pictured in her husband’s arms) before bedtime at their home in Zion, Illinois, on Saturday
A half-dozen shots were heard near the Yates’ family home in the 2800 block of Enoch Avenue in Zion, Illinois
Police said they do not believe that Yates was the intended target of the shooting
‘He looked for her, where she was at in the house, and he found her shot in the head,’ the victim’s mother told ABC 7 Chicago.
Paramedics were called to the scene and took Yates to the hospital.
Meanwhile, her husband took their two children to Yates’ parents and explained what had happened.
‘He came in and he told me that our daughter had been shot and we didn’t believe him. It was just unfathomable,’ Calderon recounted.
Yates was pronounced dead of her injuries at Vista East Hospital at 10am on Monday after being taken off life support, reported WGNTV.
Police in Zion said they do not believe Yates was the intended target of the shooting.
Nearby residents reported hearing multiple shots being fired in the area, and investigators collected six shell casings near the Yates family’s home, according to Fox 32.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force is assisting the local police department with the investigation.
Yates’ husband, Daniel, found her shot in the head in their youngest daughter’s room after hearing what he mistook for loud fireworks
Yates, a mom-of-two (pictured left with her eldest daughter and an ultrasound image of her baby), was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. She was taken off life support Monday
Yates was a registered nurse before becoming a stay-at-home mom
As of Friday morning, no arrests have been made.
Shawn Calderon, Yates’ father, said finding the person who fired the shot that killed his daughter will not bring her back, but it will give the family some closure.
Lam Claderon, Yates’ mother, said when her son-in-law told her what happened, she initially could not believe it
Yates’ brother has launched a GoFundMe campaign to provide financial assistance to his brother-in-law, writing in the description: ‘Everybody who knew Lanie knows she loved Jesus Christ with every fiber of her being. There is no doubt whatsoever that she is in heaven at this very moment. But we on earth miss her very dearly.
‘We miss her passionate, powerful prayers. We miss her infectious laugh. We miss her beautiful singing voice lifting songs of worship. We miss her feisty, witty humor. We miss her dedication to being an amazing, godly mom and wife. We miss her. And we wish with every fiber of our being she was here, but we know she’s in a better place.’
Yates is survived by her parents, three siblings, her husband of five years and their two girls, Lydia and Evelyn. Family said she had set aide her career as a registered nurse in hopes of having three to five more children.
‘The girls aren’t going to know their mom anymore,’ Lam Calderon said of her two granddaughters. ‘They’re just going to have a memory.’
Yates was aspiring to have three to five more children with husband Daniel
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