Husband Describes Terrifying Night His Wife Was Shot At July 4th Block Party In Santa Rosa
SANTA ROSA (KPIX) -- The husband of innocent bystander is speaking out about terrifying night his wife was struck by gunfire during a 4th of July block party. Four people were shot and one person is dead, in police believe was a gang-related shooting.
The Santa Rosa Police Department is still looking at the possibility that all of the victims in this case were innocent bystanders. Sgt. Christopher Mahurin says gang challenges were yelled out and that's when the 4th of July block party turned deadly.
According to police, more than 20 rounds were exchanged just after midnight, on July 5 as a silver Honda Accord drove by on the 1500 block of Beachwood Drive.
"After the first volley of shots happened, a second exchange of gunfire occurred. That's when the 4th victim was shot. The 29-year-old female," says Sgt. Christopher Mahurin.
That 29-year-old victim is Meaghan Jones. A mother of a 4-year-old, she had just returned to a house in the area to pick up her sons shoes that he left behind. Her husband Jonathon Jones thought it was a cruel prank when he got the call that Meaghan was shot.
"Not accepting it at first and giving it a couple of seconds and it kicked in. And then everything dropped," he said.
He fought through the police tape to get to his wife. He was only able to see her for minutes before paramedics took her away, along with another patient in the same ambulance. Authorities then locked down the hospital and it wasn't until later that morning that he heard what happened to his wife.
"It hit her upper abdominal cavity. It went through her intestines and they have to do surgery on that," Jones says.
Meaghan Jones now has had two surgeries since early Monday morning and is in critical condition. But on Tuesday, she was finally able to squeeze her husband's hand.
Jones says, "We definitely got some responses from her thankfully. That was the big one we were worried about. She seems like she's going to pull through and be alright."
Their son, Cooper still has no idea what happened to his mom. The family is trying to keep things as normal as they can and wait until Meaghan is out of the ICU to be reunited with her son.
"It's very stressful trying to keep a happy face on for a 4-year-old. Pretend like nothing is going on," adds Jones.
He has set up a GoFundMe site to help his wife family during this difficult time.
As for the other victims, police say the 16-year-old boy is out of the hospital, but a 17-year-old girl remains in critical condition at the hospital. No arrests have been made in this case.
