NEW ORLEANS — A pregnant woman who was shot in the stomach in New Orleans' Tremé neighborhood on Thursday evening said she's "healing," while her boyfriend, famed trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, said she and the baby are "doing fine."
The woman, Harmonese Pleasant, texted briefly with WWL-TV Friday morning and said, "I'm healing. Trying to get better. Thank you so much!"
Ruffins also shared a photo of his girlfriend Pleasant on Instagram early Friday with the caption, "Harmonese and Baby doing fine. The violence of our beautiful city has hit home."
Police sources and other sources who are friends of the couple told WWL-TV that Pleasant was rushed to a hospital with bleeding in her stomach, and emergency workers later determined that she had been shot. The baby girl was delivered through an emergency C-section and was taken to Children's Hospital New Orleans.
WWL-TV cameras captured an active crime scene and Ruffins speaking with police officers outside the single-family home on Treme Street around 10 p.m. Thursday.
Multiple police sources said witnesses saw a blue Malibu pull up and speak with people outside the house, then there was some yelling and then at least one shot was fired.
Pleasant, 25, is the office coordinator at Reve Realtors. Coincidentally, another recent victim of the city's violent crime wave, Kelleye Rhein, also works at Reve as a Realtor. Rhein was carjacked last month and dragged across the parking lot at a Costco gas station, suffering serious injuries.
Reve gave WWL-TV a short statement Friday in response to questions about Pleasant: "We are praying for a quick recovery for Harmonese and her daughter."
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the new FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.