Hopes of survival have dimmed for a prematurely born girl whose mother was shot and killed last month in Minneapolis, according to family members.
Word of the 4-week-old girl's grave condition comes less than a month after her mother, Leneesha H. Columbus, 27, was shot while sitting in an SUV near the memorial to George Floyd, who died on May 25 while being detained by police.
Baby Leneesha, born roughly three months premature at less than 2 pounds, "fought the long fight, but she's tired," a GoFundMe page established on the family's behalf by Markisha Hester, the baby's aunt, disclosed Monday. "The Lord will be calling her home. … She's going home to be with her mother."
Police said Tuesday afternoon that they have yet to hear of any change in the girl's condition.
Zachary V. Robinson, 27, of St. Paul, was charged in Hennepin County District Court last week with second-degree murder and other charges alleging that he shot Columbus during an argument July 5. Robinson remains jailed in lieu of $1.5 million bail.
Paramedics took Columbus to HCMC, where the Minneapolis woman gave birth that night before dying from a gunshot to her upper torso, the charges filed on July 8 noted.
An amended complaint filed July 23 revealed that the baby suffered from hypotension, neonatal seizures, neonatal jaundice and respiratory distress.
A man who had been "working in a peacekeeping role" at the memorial to Floyd confronted Robinson about shooting the woman, the complaint said. Robinson then shot the man in the right foot, the charges noted.
Robinson has a long and violent criminal history in Hennepin County that dates back at least to when he was 15 years old. He's been convicted on five counts of assault in connection with two cases, and he has cases pending on other assault and firearms possession allegations in the county.
In addition, prosecutors charged Robinson with first-degree riot for his role in a June 14 gun battle in north Minneapolis during which one man was fatally shot in the head.
The conflict began at Broadway Pub & Grille, and the gunfire erupted soon afterward, with most shots fired outside the 4th Street Saloon two blocks west of Broadway Pub.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
