Pregnant woman shot and killed in New York breaking up a fight at her baby shower

The woman’s ex-boyfriend is reportedly one of the men involved in the fight

New York's inimitable skyline, including the Empire State Building (Getty Images/iStockphoto/TomasSereda)

A pregnant woman has been shot and killed at her baby shower in Harlem, New York after trying to break up a fight.

The woman, a mother-of-four and pregnant with a fifth child, died on Sunday morning after she was shot in the head.

Police identified the woman as 31-year-old Shanice Young. When officers arrived on the scene they found Ms Young unconscious with a gunshot wound to the head.

Police said the woman’s ex-boyfriend, who was not invited to the party, was one of the men involved in the fight.

Witnesses told The New York Daily News that Ms Young had attempted to get between her boyfriend and her ex to stop them fighting.

“[The gunman] came in chasing the boyfriend,” building superintendent Jose Morales, told the Daily News. “They ran through here and out the other side and they ran downstairs.”

The chase led back onto the street where Ms Young attempted to intervene. At some point during the fight she was shot.

Witnesses claimed that the shooter ran off after Ms Young was shot. She was taken to a local hospital but pronounced dead. The suspect remains at large.

A friend of Ms Young, who spoke anonymously due to fears the shooter might retaliate, described her as a generous woman.

“She was there anytime of the day,” the friend told The Daily News. “If you needed a plate of food or a bottle of water, she was there. If you needed a coat or a sweater, she was there.”

Ms Young’s friends said she moved into the building a year ago to take care of her sibling and her mother, who had been diagnosed with cancer. After her mother died, she stayed to raise her younger sibling and her children.

“This is another senseless thing in the city,” NYPD Chaplain Robert Rice said.