Mom: I Shot Apt. Of Man Who Sexually Assaulted My Child

1-5-2012 Colorado:

Tarrara Garcia, Khanh Tran Arrested By Weld County Investigators

KERSEY, Colo. -- A 25-year-old Greeley mother is accused of firing 27 bullets into an apartment complex to shoot the man she believes sexually assaulted her son on Christmas Day, according to an incident report.

A grandmother called Greeley Police on Christmas night and said her grandson had been sexually assaulted.

A police officer said he took the boy and his mother, Tarrara Garcia, to the Medical Center of the Rockies for an exam. The officer said on the way to the hospital, Garcia asked if she could borrow his duty rifle "because she wanted to go shoot the person who touched her son," according to the incident report obtained by 7NEWS.

Four days later, on Dec. 29, witnesses said someone drove by the Sandy Knolls Apartments in Kersey and opened fire into a second floor apartment window.

A 50-year-old man was hit in the leg and in the hip. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Police interviewed Garcia's friend, Khanh Tran. He told police Garcia called him on Dec. 29 and asked him to meet her. Tran told police he felt Garcia was going to go stab the person accused of sexually assaulting her son, according to the incident report.

Garcia asked Tran to wait for her, and when she returned, Tran said she had a gun with her and that she said she "saw him through the window and 'shot him,'" according to the incident report.

Tran said when Garcia went to bed, he took the rifle, magazine and ammunition and put them in Dumpsters.

Investigators arrested Garcia for investigation of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault. Tran was arrested on charges of accessory to attempted murder.

Man Hit By Bullets Not Intended Target, Police Say

Investigators said that Garcia did not shoot the person she intended to shoot.

Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez confirmed the intended victim was in the apartment at the time of the shooting, but was not hurt. Three other adults and three children were also in the apartment -- but no one else was hurt by the spray of gunfire.

The intended target told investigators he was in a chair next to the victim who was shot. He told police when the shooting started, he ran to the kitchen.

"The investigation revealed Garcia was handling justice on her own in regards to a sex assault incident that was reported to Greeley Police Department four days prior to the shooting," said Weld County Undersheriff Margie Martinez. "[The victim] does not appear to be the intended victim of the shooting."

The incident report said 27 bullets were fired. They hit the intended apartment and three other apartments. People were in three of the four apartments, but only one person was hurt. A downstairs neighbor told 7NEWS she counted seven bullet holes in the wall, ceiling and counter of her home. ..Source.. by Wayne Harrison, Web Editor