Coach, Teammates Shocked By News Of Teen Critically Injured In Drive-By Shooting
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The track community in Stockton was shocked Wednesday after 18-year-old Masiah Turner was shot in the head during a drive-by in Manteca. The student-athlete is in critical condition at the hospital.
Emosi Raura is a coach at Big Valley Track Club in Stockton. He said he's known Turner for nearly half her life.
"The whole family is praying for her right now," Raura said. "Those are my kids, you know… she knows me like a Dad."
Turner spent four of those years on the team as a mentor to the younger runners on the 92 member squad.
"For someone to be chosen as a team captain, that speaks volumes of who she is," Raura said.
READ ALSO: Critically Injured Victim Of Manteca Drive-By Shooting Had Turned Her Life Around
CBS13 interviewed Turner last year about her experience on the team.
"I've been through a lot, you know?" Turner said. "And I made a lot of mistakes. To me, coming here, it keeps me around positive energy."
Raura says Turner was on the right track. She is studying criminal justice at Delta College with big dreams of helping people turn their lives around after incarceration.
Now she's fighting for her life at San Joaquin General Hospital after Manteca Police say she was shot in the head Sunday night while riding in the passenger's seat of her friend's car.
"Pulled up alongside of them as they were driving east on Louise, put the firearm out the window and shot at them," said Manteca Lt. Stephen Schluer.
The car ended up on Rosemary Court. A tarp now covers the door riddled with bullet holes while police ask anyone with information about the shooting to come forward.
Police said the suspect is a Hispanic male in his late teens or early 20s. The suspect reportedly drove a silver or grey BMW.
Police believe the shooting was an isolated incident and that Turner was an unintended victim.