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Maria Barrios Ventura was sleeping in her Vermont Vista home when a bullet reportedly came through her bedroom window
NEED TO KNOW
- A 20-year-old mom has been shot dead while sleeping with her baby in Los Angeles
- The victim was identified as 20-year-old Maria Barrios Ventura by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner
- Ventura leaves behind her partner and 1-year-old baby
A 20-year-old mother has died after she was shot through her bedroom window while sleeping alongside her baby at their home in Los Angeles.
On Sunday, July 19, Maria Barrios Ventura was in her bedroom on the 400 block of West 103rd Street in Vermont Vista when she was struck by a bullet at around 3:35 a.m. local time, according to CBS News and KTLA.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified Ventura as the victim of the incident in an online report.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) discovered Ventura with bullet wounds when they responded to the incident, per NBC Los Angeles.
The outlet added that police sources had told them she had been struck in the head.
Despite the assistance of paramedics who responded to the scene, Ventura was pronounced dead, KTLA reported.
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The victim’s boyfriend Omar Misael told NBC Los Angeles that Ventura was a mother to a 1-year-old baby. He added to the outlet that the family was sleeping together in the same bed when the fatal shooting occurred.
While authorities are investigating whether the incident was targeted, Misael told NBC Los Angeles, “A stray bullet passed through here and struck my partner, and another seven shots were fired and hit around here. She died about 10 minutes later.”
NBC Los Angeles reported that a man called Jose Chavez also said his property was hit by the gunshots.
“It hit my car, it hit the window, it hit a friend,” he said. “And unfortunately, she died.”
In a GoFundMe, Ventura’s aunt Liliana Lopez described her death as a “sudden and heartbreaking event has left her family devastated and struggling to cope with the loss. She was a loving mother, and her absence is felt deeply by everyone who knew her.”
“The funds raised through this campaign will go directly toward funeral expenses, send her back to her family in Guatemala and to support her 1-year-old daughter, who now faces an uncertain future without her mother,” Lopez added.
“With all of her family living in Guatemala, there is little local support available, and we are doing everything we can to provide for her daughter’s needs during this difficult time.”
“We currently don’t have anything for her daughter, and any contribution — no matter how small — would mean the world to us. Your support will help ensure that her daughter receives the care and stability she needs.”
PEOPLE reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for comment.
Read the original article on People
