A 17-year-old has been charged in connection with a deadly New Year’s Eve shooting inside a Saginaw gas station convenience store that left a pregnant woman and her unborn child dead.
Prosecutors say 19-year-old Kendall Berrington was an innocent bystander who was caught in the crossfire during a shootout between the teenage suspect and another man inside the Marathon gas station on Court Street. The exchange of gunfire erupted quickly, leaving multiple people hurt and ending in a loss that has deeply shaken the community.
Korvareon Smith turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday and was arraigned on Wednesday in Saginaw County District Court. He now faces several serious charges, including open murder, willful killing of an unborn quick child, assault with intent to murder, willful discharge of a firearm at or inside a building causing injury, and four counts of using a firearm to commit a felony.
“There is another individual in the store and a shootout ensues almost instantaneously, and the victim was caught in the crossfire. It’s just a tragic situation,” said Saginaw County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Blair Stevenson, according to local WJRT.
Berrington was shot in the head and later died from her injuries. Emergency responders soon discovered she was nine months pregnant. Her baby, a boy she planned to name Roman, was due on Jan. 14. He did not survive.
“It appears that she was at a hospital that night experiencing contractions and she stopped at a gas station to get a pop,” Stevenson said, offering a heartbreaking detail that underscores how close Berrington was to welcoming her child.
A 22-year-old male friend who was with Berrington at the time was also struck by gunfire. Authorities say he was injured during the shooting but is now recovering in the hospital.
Smith’s background has also drawn attention. Prosecutors noted that he has a history of fleeing from authorities and previously tampered with a monitoring device. He had also been reported missing by the FBI when he was 15 years old. Those factors are part of why he is currently being held without bond at the Saginaw County Juvenile Center.
Investigators have confirmed that there was another armed individual involved in the incident, but it remains unclear whether that person will face charges. “What the evidence shows is what we can pursue right now, but there is more investigation going into this matter, absolutely,” Stevenson said.
The case continues to unfold as police work to piece together every detail. Meanwhile, the focus for many in Saginaw remains on the loss of a young woman and the baby she never had the chance to meet.
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