Shanika Minor has been on the run for more than three months after she allegedly shot Tamecca Perry, 23, killing her, five days before her due date.
The FBI is hunting for a woman they say murdered her neighbor who was nine months pregnant after the pair had an argument over loud music at a Milwaukee apartment complex.
Shanika Minor, 24, has been on the run for more than three months after she allegedly shot and killed 23-year-old Tamecca Perry five days before her due date, the FBI said Wednesday when it announced Minor had been added to the bureau’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives List.
The two women originally came to blows in an argument over loud music that Perry had been playing in her apartment, authorities said.
Minor’s mother, who lived next door to the victim, told her daughter on March 5 that Perry had been playing loud music at an unreasonable hour. Minor approached Perry as she stood on the sidewalk outside her home and, showing that she had a gun, challenged her to a fight.
“Apparently Minor believed that the victim had somehow disrespected her or her mother,” Special Agent Chad Piontek said. “It is a fairly violent neighborhood. Unfortunately, there is sometimes a street mentality about solving problems.”
When Minor’s mother got involved and begged her not to hurt the pregnant woman, Minor allegedly fired a round from her gun into the air, got in her car and left, investigators said.
“Most people who witnessed the incident thought that was the end of it,” Piontek said.
But Minor returned to the duplex and confronted Perry again at the back door of her home at about 3 a.m. the next day, officials said.
Minor’s mother tried to stop her daughter by standing between her and the pregnant woman, but Minor reached over her mother’s shoulder and fired at Perry, hitting her in the chest, police said.
Perry stumbled into her home, where she died in front of her two young children.
Her unborn child also died.
Minor has been on the lam ever since, reportedly telling acquaintances that she would not turn herself in.
She faces a slew of charges, including first-degree intentional homicide; first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, a federal offense.
Though the 509th person to be added to the 10 Most Wanted Fugitives collection, Minor is only the tenth women ever to be added to the FBI’s list, which was established in 1950.
"The brutal murder of a mother and her unborn child is reprehensible," said Robert Shields, special agent in charge of the FBI Milwaukee Division. “The FBI will provide all of our available resources to assist the Milwaukee Police Department in locating and apprehending this violent fugitive."
Milwaukee Police Department Assistant Chief William Jessup welcomed the assistance, saying: "The senseless and tragic murder of an innocent woman and unborn child demands justice and the men and women of the Milwaukee Police Department will not rest until justice is achieved.
"The addition of Shanika S. Minor to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List combines federal law enforcement resources with MPD’s efforts and is certainly appreciated," he continued. "We are optimistic that this federal assistance and national attention will result in a swift arrest.”
Minor may have contact with people in Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio and Georgia, authorities said, noting they believe she is being helped by family members or friends.
“There is no record she had any reliable employment,” Piontek said. “I don’t think she has a lot of resources on her own. Clearly, people have assisted her… such help is criminal, and individuals could be charged with aiding and abetting a fugitive.”
Read: Polygamous Leader Warren Jeff's Brother Lyle Flees Home Confinement: Cops
Authorities are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Minor’s capture, which Piontek said he hopes motivates someone to come forward.
“Our hope is that whoever is assisting her will find the potential reward more attractive than protecting a person wanted for first-degree murder.”
Minor is described as 5-foot-6, weighing 165 pounds with a medium build, black hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo on her lower abdomen of a display of roses, which are a cover-up of an earlier tattoo that is not fully covered. Some of the roses’ petals are shaded in red, while others are outlined in black.
She should be considered armed and extremely dangerous, likely still carrying the gun used to kill Perry and her unborn child, officials said.
"She killed someone who was not a stranger to her — a family acquaintance," Piontek said, noting that the pair had gone to high school together. "This was a senseless crime and we believe Minor is capable of more violence. We need to capture her so that no one else is harmed."
Anyone with information concerning Minor should contact the nearest FBI office or local law enforcement agency, or submit a tip online. The FBI’s Milwaukee Division can be reached by phone at 414-276-4684.
Watch: Homeless Man Gets $100,000 Reward for Helping Cops Catch Fugitives
