The mother of a Puerto Rican Olympic athlete was tragically killed by a stray bullet in her home in Connecticut.
Mabel Martinez was shot in the head inside her home on Saturday after multiple people began firing their guns outside on the street. She was the mother of rifle shooter Yarimar Mercado Martinez, who competed for Puerto Rico in the Olympics in 2021.
At least 23 shots were fired. She was not the intended target in the drug-related shooting, Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo told reporters Tuesday.
A man involved in the confrontation was also shot in the hip but survived.
Mercado Martinez, 27, expressed her anguish in social media posts.
“Why you? Why this way? You were just sitting in your little house sewing, as you always did,” she wrote on Facebook in Spanish.
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“Two days ago you called me with excitement, asking me to save the date and help you prepare to renew your wedding vows with daddy in Puerto Rico,” she said Sunday. “There are so many things I still needed to learn from you … I was so far away without being able to do anything, I couldn’t even say goodbye to you.”
