Bedford Family Grateful Despite Stray Bullet Piercing Their Car
BEDFORD (CBSDFW.COM) - A Bedford family is feeling grateful after a trip to the grocery store put their car in the crossfire of a deadly shooting. And they know - they could have easily been hit by gunfire.
Erin and Sergio Ramirez know timing is everything, and that may have been what saved their lives Monday. They walked out of Kroger and into a crime scene.
"There was police cars and fire cars, ambulances and everything everywhere," says Erin Ramirez.
A fight over a door ding had erupted in gunfire and a 28-year-old husband and father was shot and killed. But the Ramirez's had no idea their car was in the line of fire.
"We turned and saw that we had a bullet hole through our car," she says.
The bullet had pierced their trunk, lodging into a seat where their 14-year-old daughter normally sits while they shop.
"She sits directly in front of where that bullet would have... where it went through my seat. Luckily she was inside with us that day," Erin says.
The couple's 9-year-old son was shaken by what happened.
"When he saw the bullet hole he asked, 'was somebody trying to kill us?' " says Sergio. "It's upsetting."
"You feel victimized," Erin says. "You just don't feel safe."
They know any twist of fate could have put them or their children in the crossfire.
"I'm relieved," Erin says. "I'm just happy to be alive and happy that my family's safe."
"This is nothing. We can fix that," says Sergio about the car. "I feel bad for the person who lost their life and the family."
The suspect was initially charged with murder and taken into custody. Tuesday a judge ordered the shooter's release citing a lack of probable cause—however, the murder charges remain.
The case will now go to the district attorney.