UPDATE: Roney Wilson was apprehended today. The St. Marys Police Department thanked the numerous law enforcement agencies throughout the Southeast that had been engaged in this effort to capture Mr. Wilson as well as countless citizens that provided leads throughout the course of the investigation.
ST. MARYS, Ga.— A mother was killed and her 18-month-old daughter was injured in a shooting Monday night in St. Marys, authorities said.
Lieutenant Johnny Guy with the St. Marys Police Department said that the 24-year-old mother was shot in the neck and died after being flown to UF Health in Jacksonville. The toddler was taken to a local Georgia hospital and has since been released.
The mother has been identified by family members as 24-year-old Jimeshia Gordon. Her daughter's name is Kamela.
"Why? Why did he kill my niece? Why did he leave our family hurting? Why did he leave us with her two kids," Gordon's aunt Shay Cummings cried.
Gordon's family drove to St. Marys from St. Petersburg where the victim is from.
"She is young. She is nothing but 24-years-old. She didn't get a chance to experience life," said Cummings.
Gordon leaves behind two little girls, a one-year-old and a four-year-old.
"She was loving. She was caring. She went all out-of-the-way for her family," Gordon's cousin Stasia said.
Police have identified a person of interest as the mother's 31-year-old live-in boyfriend, Ronnie Wilson, Jr. He fled the scene on foot.
"He didn't have to take her life," said Cummings.
Wilson's sister, Veronica, says he contacted her at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning and told her the shooting was an accident. She also says Wilson is scared to turn himself in because of his criminal past and 'armed and dangerous' label.
"He's terrified. I think that today he's realized what happened and there's consequences," Wilson told First Coast News.
She says her brother refused to tell her where he was at the time of the call and his cell phone has since been turned off.
"You have your mom and your sister and your brother that would rather see you behind bars than see you dead," she said.
Wilson's mother, Dakota, echoed the same sentiments.
"That's my baby and please, I can't, I can't do this. I can take going to visit you at jail but I cannot take going and putting flowers on your grave sight," she said.
Sergeant Shannon Brock with the St. Marys Police says that Wilson is known to frequent Nassau County and he adds that authorities there are assisting in the search for Wilson. Police say that Wilson has a violent past.
The shooting took place in an apartment at the Cumberland Oaks off Osborne Road Monday evening just after 7 p.m., police say.
Authorities do not know the motive for the shooting. Wilson is considered armed and dangerous.
This is a developing story. Stay with First Coast News for updates.