When you wake up on an ordinary October morning in 2022, you don’t expect it to become the day you think you’re going to die. But that’s exactly what happened to Savannah Mooney, a 16 and Pregnant alum, when she looked out her bay window and saw every federal agency imaginable surrounding her home.
What unfolded next was a nightmare scenario that Mooney is now recounting in a new Investigation Discovery special. Flash bangs. Smoke bombs. Her then-boyfriend Jonathan O’Dell, 35, laying on top of her in the hallway as his friend—armed and dressed in a bulletproof vest—opened fire on the FBI agents outside, cracking their vehicle’s window with 11 shots. In that moment of chaos and terror, Mooney made peace with what she believed was inevitable:“I accepted the fact that I was going to die that morning.”
The raid wasn’t random. The FBI had come with a search warrant as part of an investigation into O’Dell and Bryan Perry, both identified as members of the 2nd American Militia, who were accused of plotting to murder U.S. Border Patrol agents. What started as a typical morning became a deadly confrontation between armed extremists and federal law enforcement—with Mooney caught directly in the middle.
Her response in those final moments before the shooting stopped speaks volumes about her instinct to survive. She ran out the door with her hands raised, announcing the one thing she thought might stop bullets:“Please don’t shoot. I’m 24 weeks pregnant.”The gamble worked. She made it out alive.
The legal consequences for those involved have been severe. In August 2025, O’Dell was sentenced to 165 years in federal prison without parole on charges including conspiracy to murder a federal officer, assault of a federal officer, and multiple counts of attempted murder and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Perry, 39, received five consecutive life sentences without parole. Both will spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
Mooney will share more about her journey since that terrifying day during Investigation Discovery’s Hollywood Demons: Surviving 16 and Pregnant, which premieres Monday, May 18. The special features other cast members from the MTV series opening up about their own struggles—homelessness, addiction, and the darker chapters of their lives after the cameras stopped rolling. For Mooney, surviving that raid was just the beginning of rebuilding her life.
About the Author
Ava Hart
Ava Hart is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.
