Who was Maria Del Refugio Mora? California mom-of-3 killed by stray bullet while getting food for children

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Who was Maria Del Refugio Mora?

Maria Del Refugio Mora was a 36-year-old woman from California who was the mother of three children between the ages of 3 and 15, according to GoFundMe. On December 4, Mora was shot by gunmen who targeted a pair of teens but instead shot her while she was walking to the parking lot of a convenience store.

According to the New York Post, the incident took place on South Cypress Street's 1400 block where at around 4.30 pm, the police reached the scene to find Mora suffering from gunshot injuries to her upper body. Though Mora was given treatment on the spot and in critical condition, she was transferred to a local hospital, she died on December 9, Friday, suffering from severe injuries. A surveillance video of the incident was released by the Santa Ana Police Department where men from a passing white sedan car emerged out aiming to shoot two teenage boys.

The police wrote in a statement that Mora "an innocent bystander" was shot when the two boys ran to the parking lot to escape the shooting and the boys were left unharmed. Cops further wrote “The circumstances surrounding this shooting are currently being investigated, however, detectives believe the motive could be gang-related,” reports the New York Post.

The station KTLA reported that Mora's husband and one of their children exited a pizzeria while Mora went to buy sodas from a convenience store and walked out to the parking lot when she was shot. Before heading to the Mass, Mora and family were getting lunch, said the investigators. At the time of the fatal shooting, her three-year-old son was present there.

During a press conference, holding his youngest child in his arm, Mora's grieving husband said, “She was the best wife and the best mother,” while recalling the incident saying that he saw Mora smile at him and heard her scream a moment later, as per the New York Post.

A campaign in the name of Mora has been started on GoFundMe by her cousin and the description wrote "She was very critical all the way up until Friday, December 9th where she was pronounced dead, fighting for her life. She never made it back home to her kids. They didn’t even get to say goodbye.", saying that the tragic incident led her to leave behind her husband and three underaged children.