A pregnant Arizona woman, 24, was killed by a stray bullet during a family outing in the desert where a popular target shooting area was located

Pregnant 24-Year-Old Killed in Arizona Desert After Stray Bullet Hit Her in the Chest

A pregnant Arizona woman was killed by a stray bullet during a family outing in the desert that has become popular for unregulated target shooting.

Kami Gilstrap, 24, was spending the day in the desert in Buckeye, Arizona, on Sunday during a family outing when a stray bullet struck her in the chest, Tamela Skaggs, a spokeswoman for the Buckeye Police Department, told PEOPLE.

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She was airlifted to a nearby hospital where she later died. Gilstrap was pregnant with her first child.

Gilstrap, who worked as a nanny, was the wife of an airman stationed at Luke Air Force Base.

Her family issued a statement to ABC15, saying, “We are shocked and devastated at the passing of our beloved wife, daughter, and friend. We thank everyone who has reached out in love to share their condolences. They are much appreciated.”

“As we seek answers both from God and from the open investigation into the events of this past Sunday, we ask for privacy as we grieve together.”

Image zoom Kami Gilstrap was pregnant when she was shot by a stray bullet in the Arizona desert. Kami Kilstrap/Facebook

A GoFundMe page was created help Gilstrap’s husband, Blake Gilstrap, pay for funeral expenses.

Skaggs said the area was popular for recreational shooting. A suspect in the case has not been identified “due to the amount of people in the area” but the case will remain under investigation, she said.

Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall told AZFamily.com that there were no regulations in the area Gilstrap was shot in.

“There’s tons of ricochets. And our incident from yesterday was an indication that the round that was fired at our victim, yesterday, came from a completely different direction than where everybody’s firing right now. There are no regulations out here,” Hall said.

“Out here we have tons of trash,” Hall told the outlet. “All that trash is potential for a round to ricochet and hit another shooter. And that’s where this whole situation out here is absolutely dangerous.”

Jaime Rubio, who frequents the target shooting range, told the outlet that shooting there was “good bonding time with my kids, good pastime, stress reliever.”