A young woman. Her unborn child. A devastatingly familiar ending.

Content warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: This story contains images and names of Indigenous people who have died.

On Thursday afternoon, a young woman sat in her car with her friend in the NSW Central West town of Lake Cargelligo.

It's a small town, home to less than 1,500 people — a place defined by its connections and close-knit ties.

But at 4.20pm, that sense of quiet and calm was shattered when shots were fired into that vehicle.

We don't know every detail of those final moments yet, but we know the result: within minutes the young woman and her friend were dead.

That woman has been identified by media as 25-year-old Sophie Quinn.

Sophie was full of life; her Facebook page dotted with smiling selfies, funny posts and doting images of her nephew.

She was also just months away from welcoming a baby boy.

Sophie will never get to see the woman she would have become, the mother she would have been or the man her unborn son might have grown into.

Police have publicly identified Julian Ingram, also known as Pierpoint, as the suspect and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Ingram allegedly shot and killed Sophie and her 32-year-old friend, whom media has identified as John Harris.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports Ingram then travelled to a nearby home where he fatally shot Sophie's aunt, Nerida Quinn, and seriously injured a 19-year-old man in the driveway. The man was taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

Nerida was the pillar of a large family. According to her social media, she was a mother-of-four and a grandmother to six — three

While the town was plunged into lockdown and scared residents told to retreat indoors as authorities tracked down Ingram, the narrative began to take a familiar shape.

Police believe it was a domestic violence-related incident. They say Sophie, Narida and John appear to be known to Ingram at this stage.

Sophie's family told the SMH Ingram was her former partner and the pair had split last year.

The details that followed paint a narrative we've heard time and time again.

Assistant Commissioner Andy Holland told reporters Ingram was known to police on previous domestic violence matters.

According to the SMH, he had been on bail in relation to domestic violence allegations involving Sophie.

The publication reports Ingram was charged with stalking or intimidating intending to cause fear or physical harm and common assault — charges he had pleaded not guilty to and was due to face court on February 3.

On December 3, police reportedly took out an interim apprehended domestic violence order against Ingram on behalf of Sophie. This prohibited him from approaching or contacting her or going within 100m of her home.

It was due to be reviewed at that same court hearing.

It begs the question, when a woman's life is in the balance, how many warning signs does the system need?

Sophie's mother, Cathy Quinn, told the SMH her daughter was gentle, loving and caring. Someone who had "not a mean bone in her body". She loved fishing, pig hunting and her dogs, and was due to welcome her baby in March.

"[She was] just a fun girl to be around," she said.

Sophie was the third woman killed so far this year, according to Sherele Moody's Australian Femicide Watch. Nerida makes four.

They join a list of names that is only growing.

On January 18, Richarna "Charna" Ryan was allegedly murdered by her male cousin at a unit complex in Gordonvale, Queensland, per the Townsville Bulletin.

She was a childcare worker. Someone who was full of "kindness, warmth and light".

On January 12, Velvet Crystal Sky Pesu was found dead at a home in Buccan, Queensland, per 7NEWS. Police have issued an arrest warrant for a 36-year-old man for the offence of murder.

Velvet was a carer and artist, remembered for her "generous heart" and "powerful voice".

Four deaths in just three weeks.

According to Australian Femicide Watch, we lost 77 women to violence last year. The year before, 105.

As a media organisation, we're, unfortunately, used to seeing these numbers.

But women's lives are more than just data points.

There is a story behind every headline; a family grieving, a future cut short.

Sophie, Nerida, Charna, and Velvet weren't just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were failed.

When we stop counting them as statistics and start seeing them as the daughters, mothers, and artists they were, perhaps then we will find the collective will to stop the count entirely.

Feature image: Facebook.