Woman Killed In Gunfire Between Boyfriend And Ex; Wounded 7-Year-Old Survives

A Florida mother and her 7-year-old daughter were caught in a gunfire exchanged by the woman's current boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend. The child was rushed to the hospital and given medical attention but her mother, 25-year-old Nicolshia Washington, did not survive.

Lavaris Delapierre, the victim's ex-boyfriend and the father of the 7-year-old child, turned himself in to the Clearwater police Monday and is facing charges for the incident, according to 8 On Your Side.

Delapierre was dropping the child off at her mother's apartment Sunday night when a confrontation between him and Washington's current boyfriend, Stacy Cross, resulted in a fight.

The scuffle turned violent as the two men fired gunshots at each other. Washington and her daughter were struck in the crossfire, the Clearwater Police Department said.

Clearwater Police and Clearwater Fire & Rescue responded to the scene after calls reporting the shooting around 6:30 p.m. Sunday.

Cross spoke to deputies following the incident while Delapierre was at large.

The mother succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at a hospital. Her daughter received hospital treatment for her gunshot wound and was released Monday.

Delapierre turned himself in Monday and was taken to a hospital to receive treatment for a gunshot wound he sustained. He was then questioned at Clearwater Police headquarters.

"Lavaris Delapierre has been charged with felony murder, armed burglary and felon in possession of a firearm after a shooting Sunday night that left a mother dead and her 7-year-old daughter injured. He's been booked into the Pinellas County Jail ... " the Clearwater Police Department wrote on Facebook.

Washington's family members, including her mother Sarah Miller, are left grieving after the woman's tragic death. "She shouldn't have been gone this early, it was too early for her, she doesn't deserve this at all," Miller told the outlet.

Miller said Washington's three young children are now left without a mother. "It's not fair to my grandkids, and it's not fair to me, we need justice for Nicolshia," Miller added.

The victim's aunt, Chyna Mills, said the surviving 7-year-old girl was not immediately told that her mother was killed in the shooting.

"She's been asking, so we going to have to do the tough role and tell her that she's no longer here. Nobody should leave this earth at 25," Mills told ABC Action News.