CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Early Friday morning Antonio Phifer called his pregnant ex-girlfriend and told her he was coming to her north Charlotte apartment with a gun to kill her. He later carried out his threat.
Now police sources say Phifer was listed in their files as a suspected Blood gang member.
After she received the call, family members say 21-year-old Yumeka Caldwell called police. Police showed up at Timber Ridge Apartments. They didn't see Phifer, so they left to follow a car Caldwell identified as his.
Once police took off, Phifer broke in and shot and killed Caldwell before turning the gun on himself.
"He kicked the door open and I was trying to run out the door with the baby," said Caldwell's friend Kanisha Hames. "Then he said 'Where the [expletive] she at?', and I ran out the door with the baby. When I got around to the front, I heard four gunshots."
Neighbors, too afraid to show their face on television for fear of retaliation, say Phifer was constantly flashing signs and recruiting for the Bloods in the Timber Ridge area.
Records show Phifer was arrested in April of last year for possession of a firearm by a felon. He pled guilty in November, and got a suspended sentence of 15 to 18 months, along with supervised probation.
By December he was charged with assault on a female, but that charge was dismissed because there was no witness willing to come forward. He had a court date scheduled for July 28th, to deal with a probation violation.
Emotions were high Friday at Timber Ridge, with neighbors saying they're don't understand why police left Caldwell with no protection inside her home.
"She did the right thing," said one man who wished to not be identified. "She called for help, but it didn't end up helping her at all."
Captain Johnny Jennings says he stands by his officers decision to leave the property and follow the car.
"Our officers' goal when we receive a call for service like that -- especially with threats that threaten someone's life -- is to try and make an attempt to locate that individual," he said. "That's exactly what the officers were doing when they were out on the scene."
Caldwell was nine months pregnant, due August 1st.
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