Adriana Jimenez was shot alongside her sister outside their Canoga Park apartment before a celebration planned for her 23rd birthday.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A man accused of opening fire on two sisters sitting in a car in Canoga Park now faces murder charges in the deaths of 22-year-old Adriana Jimenez and her unborn child after prosecutors amended a case that initially centered on attempted murder allegations.

The change in the case came after Jimenez, who was pregnant and already the mother of a 6-year-old girl, died following the Aug. 23 shooting. Jimenez had suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was declared brain-dead. Her family later said she was removed from life support. Her older sister, Maria Fernanda Jimenez, 24, was also wounded in the attack but was expected to survive. Prosecutors have accused Walter Francisco Rodriguez Garcia, 30, of carrying out the shooting. He had previously pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges filed before Jimenez’s death.

The shooting happened shortly before 8 a.m. in the 8300 block of Northgate Avenue in the Canoga Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Police said the sisters were sitting in a black Toyota Camry in an alley outside their apartment when a gunman walked toward the vehicle and opened fire. Adriana Jimenez was behind the wheel, according to her family. Her sister was with her in the car when the shots were fired. Investigators also allege that the gunman tried to shoot Jimenez’s boyfriend, who was the father of her unborn child.

The sisters had spent much of the night together before returning home. Their uncle, Leonardo Ayala, told the Los Angeles Times that they had finished working as cooks at a Thai restaurant at about 2 a.m. They later went out with two cousins and Jimenez’s boyfriend. When the group returned to the apartment complex, Jimenez drove into the alley and stopped while they waited for another vehicle to be moved so they could park. Police said the gunman approached while they were waiting. The ordinary pause at the end of the group’s night became the scene of a shooting that would leave one sister dead and another hospitalized.

Authorities arrested Rodriguez Garcia two days after the shooting. The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office initially charged him with three counts of attempted murder and added allegations that he personally and intentionally discharged a firearm. Those charges reflected the circumstances known while Jimenez was still being kept on life support. After her death and the death of her unborn child, prosecutors amended the complaint to include two murder counts. The charges are allegations, and Rodriguez Garcia is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless he is proven guilty in court.

A clear public explanation for the shooting has not been released. Police and Jimenez’s family have said Rodriguez Garcia had previously been in a dating relationship with one of the women associated with the group. The Los Angeles Times reported that the person was one of Jimenez’s cousins. Family members have disputed reports suggesting the shooting was connected to gang activity. Investigators have continued examining what led to the gunfire, and the family has said it wants to understand why Jimenez and her sister became victims of the attack.

The deaths also ended plans the family had been making for Sept. 11. Jimenez was approaching her 23rd birthday, and relatives said they intended to mark the occasion with a gender reveal for the baby she was expecting. She was described in reports as being about 16 weeks pregnant. Instead of gathering for the planned celebration, the family was dealing with the deaths of Jimenez and her unborn child and trying to arrange funeral expenses while caring for her surviving daughter. The timing became one of the details relatives cited when describing how abruptly the shooting changed the family’s plans.

Maria Fernanda Jimenez survived after suffering serious injuries. Her uncle said a bullet struck her in the throat and narrowly missed critical areas. Later reporting said she was recovering and expected to survive. Her survival left her facing the loss of the younger sister with whom she had shared both a home and work. The sisters were originally from El Salvador. Their family told the Los Angeles Times that Adriana Jimenez had been in the United States for about two years, after her older sister had already spent more than a decade in the country.

Jimenez’s 6-year-old daughter became another focus of the family’s grief. Ayala told reporters that the child continued calling for her mother after the shooting. The family had already lost the sisters’ mother to breast cancer years earlier, according to the Los Angeles Times, adding another loss to a family now trying to support Jimenez’s daughter. Relatives organized an online fundraiser for medical and funeral costs and said they were also considering whether Jimenez’s remains would be returned to El Salvador.

The case developed in stages because Jimenez’s medical condition changed the potential criminal charges. She was declared brain-dead after the shooting and remained on life support while her relatives confronted decisions about her care. Early news reports therefore described Rodriguez Garcia as facing attempted murder charges. Prosecutors signaled that the case could change if Jimenez died. After she was removed from life support, the district attorney’s office amended the complaint to accuse him of murdering Jimenez and her unborn child, moving the prosecution into a different and more serious phase.

The amended charges do not resolve the central unanswered question surrounding the attack. Police have described how the shooting occurred, identified a suspect and made an arrest, but authorities have not publicly established a motive. The family’s account also leaves no indication that Jimenez expected an attack as she waited outside her apartment. Those unanswered issues will remain important as the criminal case advances and prosecutors present the evidence they say links Rodriguez Garcia to the shooting.

Rodriguez Garcia remains accused, not convicted, in the case. Jimenez’s sister survived, while Adriana Jimenez and her unborn child died after the Aug. 23 shooting. Prosecutors have now moved beyond the original attempted murder case by filing murder charges, but a motive has not been publicly announced. The criminal proceedings will determine whether the prosecution can prove its allegations and provide a fuller account of what led to the gunfire.

Author note: Last updated October 20, 2026.