An 8-month-old Texas girl was shot and killed as her parents fought over a gun on Wednesday night at a Northeast Side apartment complex, according to San Antonio police.
The toddler was identified on Thursday as Rosalinda Martinez.
Police said the child’s parents were arguing when the gun went off, striking the infant and her 21-year-old mother before 7 p.m. at Merida Apartments the the 2100 block of NE Loop 410.
Family members drove the child and the woman to a hospital. The baby was in critical condition but was later pronounced dead.
The woman was in fair condition. She told police that she was arguing with the child’s father about a gun that he was carrying, according to a preliminary report from SAPD.
She said the gun belonged to her and she wanted the weapon back. With the baby in her arms, she began to struggle with the man for the gun and it went off, police said.
The man fled the scene before officers arrived. Officers searched the area but he was not located.
His name was not released. It is unclear what charges, if any, the parents are facing.
The case is under investigation. Neighbors were shocked to hear this news on Thursday.
“There was a lot of chaos, a lot of cops here,” said apartment resident Amanda Cain. “CSI ended up coming. They blocked this parking lot and the parking lot up front.”
Cain said she heard the gunshot come from a nearby building.
“It floors me to even hear that there was a toddler there,” said Cain. “I know it was just a single suspect, but I never saw anybody enter or leave the apartment. We just never know what anybody’s going to do, so it’s really unpredictable.”
Another neighbor who did not want to be identified said the amount of recent gun violence in the area is concerning.
“I had no idea that it was a toddler. I honestly thought it was an adult or maybe an argument or something like that,” she said.
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