A California mother of three was killed by a stray bullet during a suspected gang-related shooting that targeted a pair of teenagers, police said.
Maria Del Refugio Mora, 36, was shot on Dec. 4 by gunmen who got out of a passing car as she was leaving a store to meet her family in Santa Ana.
Police responded to the 1400 block of South Cyprus Street around 4:30 p.m. and found Mora in the parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper body.
Mora was treated at the scene and then transported to a local hospital in critical condition. He died of his injuries on Friday.
Police said a preliminary investigation revealed two teenage boys were shot by occupants of a white sedan, as seen in surveillance video released over the weekend.
Desperate to get away from the gunmen, the teenagers ran into a parking lot on South Cyprus Street, where Mora, an “innocent bystander,” was shot. The two boys escaped on their own.
“The circumstances surrounding this shooting are currently under investigation, but investigators believe the motive may be gang-related,” police said. wrote in the statement.
Investigators said Mora was leaving the store after buying sodas while her husband and one of their children were leaving a nearby pizzeria. Station KTLA. The family had lunch before going to Mass.
The husband said at the press conference that he saw his wife smiling at him and moments later he heard her scream. The couple had a 3-year-old son at the time of the shooting.
“She was the best wife and the best mother,” said the heartbroken man, holding his youngest child in his arms.
According to a description of the GoFundMe campaign started by Mora’s cousin, the young mother died five days after the shooting, unable to say goodbye to her children, who ranged in age from 3 to 15.
Police are now asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects involved in the fatal shooting
.