Tragedy in Canoga Park: Pregnant Mom Declared Brain‑Dead After Shooting

It was a typical August morning in Canoga Park when the calm was shattered by the crack of a gun. Adriana Jimenez, 22, was sitting in the driver’s seat with her six‑year‑old daughter’s aunt, Maria Fernanda, when a man stepped out of the shadows and opened fire on the car.

Adriana was eight months into her first pregnancy – actually 16 weeks – and still trying to juggle the chaos of a toddler and a newborn on the way. The bullet struck her squarely in the head, leaving her brain‑dead within minutes. Her sister, Maria Fernanda, was hit twice, one round tearing through her neck, yet miraculously she survived and is now on a slow road to recovery.

Police say the assault happened around 8 a.m. on August 23. According to the victim’s uncle, Leonardo Ayala, the shooter seemed to target the vehicle itself, not just a random passerby. "It was so tragic," Ayala told ABC 7, his voice shaking. "Her birthday is Sept 11, they were going to have a gender reveal… and now… the baby didn’t even get a chance to be born."

The alleged gunman, Walter Francisco Rodriguez Garcia, 28, hails from Gardena and runs a modest barbershop in South L.A. He is not a gang member, Ayala emphasized, but rather someone who knew the family through a cousin. No one can quite piece together why he would turn on relatives.

Garcia has been arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder. Court filings show he has pleaded not guilty, and prosecutors say the charges could rise now that Adriana’s baby did not survive. The man’s record already includes a 2022 battery‑vandalism case that ended in acquittal.

Meanwhile, the Jimenez family is grappling with an avalanche of grief and practical concerns. A GoFundMe page was launched to help cover funeral expenses and the possible repatriation of Adriana’s remains to her native El Salvador. "Our family never imagined this magnitude of tragedy," wrote aunt Vilma Carranza on the campaign. "We have to stay strong, unite, and keep the little girl safe during this impossible time."

The Los Angeles Police Department continues its investigation, though details on motive remain scarce. The community mourns a young mother whose future – both hers and her unborn child’s – was brutally snatched away.