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Police say a man killed his pregnant girlfriend early Friday morning and then turned the gun on himself -- while officers were a short distance away, trying to stop the suspect from harming the woman.
Dead is Yumeka Caldwell, 21, who lived at the Timber Ridge Apartments, off Milton Road in northeast Charlotte; and Antonio Phifer, 25.
Police Officer Robert Fey said detectives believe Phifer killed Caldwell, who friends say was nine months pregnant, and then shot himself.
Officers had responded to the apartments shortly before 2:30 a.m., after Caldwell called and said she had received threatening phone calls from Phifer, and that he was on his way to the apartment.
While police were talking to Caldwell at the apartment, she pointed out a vehicle in which Phifer frequently rode in. The vehicle was leaving the parking lot, and officers pursued the car and pulled it over, a short distance away.
But the other occupants of the car told police Phifer was not with them.
Moments later, several shots were heard coming from Caldwell's apartment. Officers raced back there and found Caldwell and Phifer dead.
The Timber Ridge Apartments were in the news almost 2 1/2 years ago. CMPD Officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton were shot to death there after answering a service call March 31, 2007. The man accused in their deaths is awaiting trial.
