‘Unimaginable violence’ leaves baby and mom dead, MD cops say. Now man charged

A pregnant woman and her baby died after a shooting in 2020, Maryland police said.

Now, a man has been arrested and charged with two counts of first- and second-degree murder in connection with the killings, according to an April 10 news release by Howard County police.

In July 2020, officers responded to a home after getting reports of residents hearing gunshots, police said.

Officers learned 30-year-old Rabiah Ahmad, who was 28 weeks pregnant at the time, had been shot once, police said.

She died at a hospital after giving birth to her daughter who died five days later, officers said.

In 2024, the case was given to the police department’s cold case division, and a tip revealed that 31-year-old Edward Robinson had a fight with two people living at the address, where he fired a gun as a warning to other residents, officers said.

“On July 31, 2020, Rabiah Ahmad and her unborn daughter Ahja were taken from this world far too soon in an act of unimaginable violence. Their case remained cold for five years, and we are grateful for the efforts of the Howard County Police Department in identifying and arresting their shooter. We hope that Rabiah and Ahja’s family can attain some closure after all this time,” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said in the release.

The projectiles found at the scene matched the caliber of a gun found at Robinson’s home during a search warrant, officers said.

The gun will be tested to determine if it was the weapon used in the killing, police said.

“Nearly five years have passed since Rabiah and baby Ahja’s senseless deaths, and I know it must have felt much longer for their family. Rabiah had an incredibly bright future, and her and Ahja’s lives were taken so callously. I want to commend our detectives for their tireless work and those who came forward to provide the information necessary to move this case forward,” Police Chief Gregory Der said in the release.

Howard County is about a 30-mile drive west of Baltimore.

This story was originally published April 11, 2025 at 2:52 PM with the headline "‘Unimaginable violence’ leaves baby and mom dead, MD cops say. Now man charged."