A pregnant woman who was shot dead after her baby shower as she was unloading gifts from her car in Philadelphia has been named.
Jessica Covington, 32, was shot 11 times in the head and belly on Saturday night in what police believe was a targeted shooting.
Deputy Police Commissioner Christine Coulter demanded that progressive DA Larry Krasner take action amid a massive surge of gun violence.
‘Children are getting shot, unborn children getting shot, what is the city doing about this?’ she asked.
Krasner has cut the number of prosecutions for gun crime and cops are blaming him for a huge spike in shootings a homicides.
Pregnant Jessica Covington, 32, was shot on Saturday night as she was unloading gifts from her baby shower from her Kia Soul and into her home
The shooting took place outside Covington’s home on Palmetto Street (pictured)
She was shot multiple times to the head and belly in the Lawncrest section of Philadelphia
Krasner boasts on his website that he has cut incarceration rates by 24,800 years and slashed supervision by 102,400 years
He boasts of sending fewer to jail, represented BLM protesters and was funded by George Soros: Philadelphia’s woke DA Larry Krasner is presiding over a record crime spike
Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner is pictured arriving at a polling site on Election Day, November 2, 2021
Larry Krasner, a 60-year-old longtime civil rights and defense attorney who sued the Philadelphia Police Department 75 times, won election in 2017 against a crowded field by billing himself as the outsider candidate capable of making radical change.
Krasner’s campaign benefitted from the largesse of controversial Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros, who poured an eye-popping $1,7million into the race to support the Democratic candidate’s criminal justice reform agenda.
Under Krasner, the future years of incarceration have been cut by half, and the length of parole in probation supervision have been slashed by nearly two-thirds compared to the previous DA.
Krasner, who previously defended Black Lives Matter and Occupy Philadelphia protesters as a lawyer, has clashed with the city’s top cops over his reluctance to prosecute non-violent gun and drug possession crimes, despite a surge in gun violence and rising homicide rates in the City of Brotherly Love.
As of November 21, 2021, there have been 491 homicide victims, a 14 per cent increase from last year’s number of 436, and 283 in 2019.
The Philadelphia Police Department and Krasner have been at loggerheads over a steep drop in convictions related to gun offenses.
This year, police in Philadelphia have made a record number of arrests for illegal gun possession, but the suspects’ chances of getting convicted have dropped from 63 per cent in 2017 down to 49 per cent in 2021, according to an analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer published in March.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw was previously quoted as saying that Philadelphia’s criminal justice system has become a ‘revolving door’ for repeat gun offenders since Krasner was sworn into office in January 2018.
Krasner has blamed the decrease on police submitting weaker evidence in cases, or on witnesses failing to show up in court to testify.
The progressive Democrat DA has contended that his main focus is on convicting people who use guns to kill or hurt others, not those who are caught being in possession of the weapons.
Krasner’s office has argued that there is little evidence that suspects accused of being in possession of guns are responsible for the uptick in gun violence.
Compared to the previous DA term, Krasner’s has imposed 24,000 fewer years of incarceration and 102,000 fewer years of supervised probation or parole since 2018.
In addition, under Krasner there have been 23 exonerations of offenders serving sentences for which he says a review found insufficient evidence.
The progressive Democrat DA has contended that his main focus is on convicting people who use guns to kill or hurt others, not those who are caught being in possession of the weapons.
Krasner argued that the city should be most concerned with structural problems, such as underfunded schools and high poverty rates.
‘Yes, enforcement is a small part of the story,’ he told the Inquirer earlier this year. ‘The big part of the story is not that. The big part of the story is this city’s chronic failure to invest in prevention that the community is crying out for. That is where we have to go.’
Krasner’s office has argued that there is little evidence that suspects accused of being in possession of guns are responsible for the uptick in gun violence, considering that the recent surge in gun-related arrests has not resulted in a significant decrease in shootings.
Police Commissioner Outlaw said in September that she and Krasner ‘just don’t agree’ on whether prioritizing illegal gun and drug possession prosecutions would reduce violent crime in the city.
‘Fundamentally, there are very key disconnects there, as far as which crimes we prioritize, and who believes what are the main drivers of the violent crime that we’re seeing,’ Outlaw said.
In late March, the Democratic City Committee voted not to endorse Krasner for May’s primary election, but he easily trounced primary challenger Carlos Vega and then won reelection on November 2.
Police in Philadelphia have made a record number of arrests for illegal gun possession this year – but the suspects’ chances of getting convicted dropped to 49 per cent from 63 per cent in 2017, analysis by the Philadelphia Inquirer found.
There have been 491 homicide victims in 2021 – a 14 per cent increase from last year’s number of 436, and 283 in 2019.
Krasner boasts on his website that he has cut incarceration rates by 24,800 years, cut supervision by 102,400 years, never used the death penalty and helped exonerate 23 people.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has said that Philadelphia’s criminal justice system has become a ‘revolving door’ for repeat gun offenders since Krasner was sworn into office in January 2018.
Covington was taken to Einstein Medical Center where her and her unborn baby were pronounced dead.
No suspects have been identified and the incident remains under investigation.
Deputy Police Commissioner Christine Coulter told ABC6: ‘I mean, the person that did this couldn’t be more cowardly.
‘The city as a whole is doing what we can. We can’t stop people who are intent on shooting somebody.
‘When I look at this situation, it looks like someone was targeting her and looking for her.’
Coulter is not the only person angered over the ongoing violence as residents have also expressed their concerns.
‘Enough is enough,’ neighbor Tom McDonald also told ABC. ‘It’s time for the city to do something – something.’
Mayor Jim Kenney has announced a $50,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
‘This news is deeply upsetting and heartbreaking,’ Kenney had tweeted.
According to her Facebook page, Covington worked as an esthetician in Philadelphia.
Heartbroken friends and family have been posting condolences and prayers.
This shooting is not the first that happened in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Another man was shot dead in his car at around 3.45am on the 5100 block of F Street.
He had been shot through the driver’s side door and suffered a gunshot wound to his head.
The Philadelphia Police Department and District Attorney Larry Krasner, a progressive Democrat committed to criminal justice reform, have been pointing fingers at each over a steep drop in convictions related to gun offenses.
Krasner, whose winning campaign for the DA’s Office was in part funded by controversial billionaire George Soros, has acknowledged the sharp decrease in convictions, but blamed it on police submitting weaker evidence in cases, or on witnesses failing to show up in court to testify.
Compared to the previous DA term, Krasner’s has imposed 24,000 fewer years of incarceration and 102,000 fewer years of supervised probation or parole since 2018.
In addition, under Krasner there have been 23 exonerations of offenders serving sentences for which he says a review found insufficient evidence.
In late March, the Democratic City Committee voted not to endorse Krasner for May’s primary election, but he easily trounced primary challenger Carlos Vega and then won reelection on November 2.
In September 2020, the City Council of Philadelphia had approved a resolution that urged Kenney to declare gun violence a citywide emergency as shootings continued to increase.
‘Please know, our administration takes this crisis very seriously,’ Kenney said in a statement last year, according to Fox News.
‘We are committed to working with all of our criminal justice & community partners to create a safer city for us all.’
DailyMail.com reached out to the Philadelphia Police Department for comment.
Covington worked as an esthetician in Philadelphia. Police have not said why she was targeted
Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner, a progressive committed to criminal justice reform has been criticized for his reluctance to prosecute gun possession offenses
Mayor Jim Kenney announced a $50,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest
Deputy Police Commissioner Christine Coulter said she is fed up with the area’s rising gun violence as the city has amassed nearly 500 homicides this year
This graph indicates that the number of cases charged in Philadelphia has been declining since 2019
According to this data, 44 homicides in September 2021 have resulted in eight arrests and charges, while the rest have gone unpunished so far