Victoria DeLeon, a 22-year-old mother of five, was killed in a drive by shooting in her home at Fort Worth, Texas, after a bullet bounced off her one-year-old baby’s crib and struck her.
Her mother, Josie DeLeon, explained: “She got hit by two bullets, one went through the air conditioning unit and hit her in the chest, and the other ricocheted off the baby’s crib and hit her in the side.”
She continued: “Once she got shot, she rose up and grabbed the baby. She held the baby until they came for her.” Neighbors said they heard between three and five shots in the early morning hours and ran to get their children from bed to protect them from the gunfire outside of their street.
Victoria DeLeon was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead shortly after, due to gunshot wounds to her chest and abdomen. Friends and family held a candlelight vigil on Sunday night at Holy Name Catholic Church.
“She did whatever she could for her babies,” Josie DeLeon said. “She loved a lot of people and a lot of people loved her. She didn’t deserve this.”
One neighbor, who requested anonymity in fear of retaliation, said it was a sad situation. The neighbor, who moved to the area two years ago, said the first year was quiet but that this year was not, citing three separate incidents of shots fired in the past 12 months.
The neighbor stated: “She seemed like she was the innocent person in this, but something like this was bound to happen.”
Family members and other neighbors also said that even though the house had been shot at in a separate incident a few weeks ago, they didn’t think Victoria DeLeon or her family were the intended target.
Josie DeLeon said if the shooting: “I don’t think this was intended for her. I think there had been some stuff going on in the neighborhood and that she was the one who got hit”. Police have stated that they do not know why the shooting occurred at the house.
Homicide detectives investigating the shooting are still not sure why someone shot at the house, according to Daniel Segura, police spokesman. No one was in police custody in connection with the shooting the day it happened, and there haven’t been any arrests yet. Police also found several bullet casings outside of DeLeon’s home.
