Rosa Marie Mora (San Antonio Police Dept.)
A 21-year-old pregnant mother in Texas was arrested this week for allegedly accidentally shooting and killing her 8-month-old daughter while trying to wrestle her handgun away from the infant’s father.
Rosa Marie Mora was taken into custody on Monday and charged with one count of causing injury to a child resulting in serious bodily injury in the death of young Rosalinda Martinez, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a sworn affidavit of probable cause obtained by San Antonio CBS affiliate KENS, police say that the child’s father on Mora up from work on April 12. Shortly thereafter, the two adults got into an argument. It was not immediately clear what they were fighting about initially, but the squabble eventually began to center on a handgun that allegedly belonged to Mora but was being held by Rosalinda’s father, whose name was not included in the document. The weapon was reportedly stuffed into the waistband of the father’s pants.
Police reportedly wrote that in the midst of the argument, Mora picked up the infant and continued to quarrel with the father as she got out of the car, which was stopped outside of Mora’s sister’s apartment complex.
The affidavit reportedly states that when the incident occurred, the father was still sitting in the vehicle while Mora was standing outside of the vehicle holding her daughter. Mora allegedly reached into the vehicle and tried to wrestle the firearm back from Rosalinda’s father. As the two struggled, the gun reportedly went off and both Mora and Rosalinda were struck.
KENS previously reported that Mora and Rosalinda were rushed to a hospital that was only blocks away from the location of the shooting by family members. Unfortunately, the child succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Mora, who was reportedly struck in the hand by the gunshot, was admitted to the hospital and released on Monday, just hours before she was taken into custody. The pregnant woman’s unborn child is reportedly doing fine.
Several members of Mora’s family reportedly told KENS that Rosalinda’s father has a history of violence against Mora. At the time of the shooting, he was reportedly out of jail on bond for a previous assault against Mora that took place in February. Conditions of his pretrial release on bond prohibited Rosalinda’s father from having any contact with Mora and from being in possession of a firearm, the affidavit reportedly states.
“My little sister was literally beaten by [Rosalinda’s father],” Mora’s sister, Andrea Mendoza, told KENS.
According to the station, Rosalinda’s father was still in possession of the firearm when he fled the scene. He was still on the run from law enforcement as of Monday evening, the report states.
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