The pregnant woman's ex-husband shot her with a crossbow, killing her, police said.
A baby born after his mother was killed with a crossbow is struggling for his life in a London hospital.
Sana Muhammad, 35, was attacked in her home in front of her children as she did the breakfast dishes Wednesday, police said.
The bolt penetrated her abdomen and struck her heart, her husband Imtiaz Muhammad, told the Evening Standard. She died in emergency surgery. She was eight months pregnant.
Surgeons removed the infant by cesarean section and he remains in critical condition, his father said. The bolt was not removed during surgery for fear it would harm the baby, he said.
Police have arrested Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 50, the woman's ex-husband, and charged him with murder, authorities said. He was scheduled to appear in court Thursday.
Imtiaz said he was putting a box in the family's shed when he saw a man aiming at crossbow at him. "I ran into the house," he told the paper. "My wife was doing the washing up. I was shouting, 'Run, run, run.'
"He shot her," the husband said. "I can't help thinking she took my arrow. Maybe it should have hit me. The kids were all there, it was horrific."
The children ranged in age from 1 to 17.
“When we met, she was going through a divorce so I gave her support," her husband said. "We loved each other so much. We were always together.”
Friends and neighbors said the woman was devoted to her children.
"She was kind and caring and was a wonderful mother," said resident Nia Khan. "She did everything for her children. They were her world."
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