Family Pleads For Justice After Mother Killed In Front Of Kids

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — The family of K'Mia Simmons, the mother of two who was fatally shot in front of her children in a car Tuesday night, pleaded through tears to the killer to come forward.

The family asked for help from the community during a press conference at the St. Petersburg Police Department Thursday.

Twenty-one-year-old Simmons was the baby of her large family. Her oldest sister, Lawshawn Laster, said K'Mia's 1-year-old daughter won't sleep or eat since she saw her mother die in front of her from a gunshot.

"She cries for hours for her mom," Laster said as she, too, cried. "Ya'll don't know what ya'll took from us."

On the night Simmons was shot as she was a passenger in a vehicle as the family returned from reserving a space at Wildwood Park for a birthday party she was planning for one of her daughters next month.

St. Petersburg Police said the car was being driven by Parise Lovett Jr., who is the father of Simmons’ children, WFLA reported. After K'Mia was shot at 6:15 p.m., Lovett drove the car to a family member’s home and dropped off the children but left K’Mia in the front seat of the car, where she died. Police and K'Mia's family want Lovett to speak to police, but he hasn't yet.

"K'Mia's my last one," her mother, Linda Simmons, said. "I had five girls, and two boys. She was my baby."

K'Mia Simmons graduated from Boca Ciega High School in 2018. She had her first daughter a week before her graduation ceremony, Linda Simmons said. She wanted to become a gynecologist, her mom said. She and her sister had planned since they were children to own their own medical practice.

"And they were working towards that dream," Linda Simmons said. "She was going to college at Manatee to become a nurse. ... And this is a hard pill to swallow. It's injustice, and it's unreal for me, especially my grandchildren, because their mom is all they knew. They was like at the hip."

As shots were fired, she said K'Mia covered her baby with her body to protect the child.

"I am begging with you," she said. "I am pleading with you all to please come forward. Don't let this go. If you know something, call."

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call St. Petersburg Police at 727-893-7780, or call Crime Stoppers of Pinellas at 800-873-TIPS. You may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.

Related Story: Mom Shot Dead While Sitting With 2 Children In Car: Police