Brandon, Florida – A Florida mother and her unborn baby are recovering after deputies say she was shot in the stomach while sleeping next to two of her children. A 44-year-old man with a long criminal history is now behind bars, accused of pulling the trigger and fleeing the hospital moments after dropping her off.
Deputies say the violence unfolded before sunrise on Nov. 22, when the woman — eight months pregnant — was brought to the emergency room with a gunshot wound to her abdomen. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the man who drove her there ran from the entrance immediately after. Investigators later identified him as Eric Patterson, described by deputies as a “15-time convicted felon.”
Incident overview
Detectives say the woman had been sleeping in her bed at the time of the shooting, with two young children beside her. In their report, officials state that Patterson fired a small-caliber handgun directly at her stomach while she rested in the master bedroom of her apartment. The round passed through her abdomen and struck her unborn daughter.
Inside the room, investigators found a sheet stained with blood and marked with a burn ring consistent with a firearm being discharged at close range. Prosecutors later detailed the same evidence in a detention motion filed with the court.
How deputies pieced together the timeline
According to investigators, surveillance video proved critical. Cameras inside the apartment building reportedly showed the victim clutching her stomach as she walked out of the home with Patterson. Additional video at the hospital captured the pair arriving together — and Patterson quickly leaving the area…