An innocent bystander is dead and three people are in critical condition after a shootout between two vehicles happened on a major Dallas roadway Saturday afternoon, according to police.
Family members of 39-year-old Ana Moreno said she was driving her daughter Amy, who is a senior in high school, to get her hair done and then pick up her dress for prom that night, just a day before Mother's Day.
"She was like, ‘Oh we finally get to see her get ready' and she didn’t even get to see it happen," said Michelle Rodriguez, Moreno's youngest of three children.
She said other family members were at their home waiting to see her sister get ready for prom when they got a group message from Amy saying their mother had been shot.
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“All she heard was gunshots and she said my mom made a signal like she couldn’t breathe, and then she leaned on Amy’s shoulder and that’s when they crashed, and that’s when Amy said she called the ambulance," Michelle Rodriguez said through tears.
DPD SEARCHING FOR TIPS
Dallas police said at about 4:05 p.m. they were called to a shooting on the 2100 block of N. Masters Drive and Bruton Road.
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Investigators said people in two vehicles were shooting at each other while driving eastbound on Bruton Road. That's when Moreno was caught in the crossfire.
Police said three men who were also injured in the shooting are in critical condition.
"I put the shirt on the wound, I lifted her up to see if I could get a response out of her, and I couldn't," said Jacob Faz, who was driving home with his wife and stopped to help when he saw Moreno's daughter in a panic.
Rodriguez, who had her mom's location on her phone, said her aunt and other family rushed over to the scene not too far from their home. Moreno had been taken to the hospital, where they would learn that her mother died.
"It hurts. It really does hurt, because we all had such a great bond with my mom, and it hurts that we lost her so early," said Rodriguez, about losing her mom the day before Mother's Day. "They took her from us, it’s not fair, she had so much potential, she was so outgoing, she was hard-working, she had everything."
As of Monday afternoon, Dallas Police were still looking for any tips and information that could lead to an arrest in the case. They're hoping anyone who knows anything can help the family find justice.
"If anyone was in the area of the 2100 block of North Masters and saw anything, we're asking them to reach out to us," Officer Michael Dennis with DPD told NBC 5. "No matter how small and insignificant they think or may think that it is, that [information] could be the very piece that we're looking for to help us find out who's responsible for this."
On Sunday the family held a balloon release at the site where the crash happened. People brought red and gold balloons, Moreno's favorite colors.
"She loved the color red. Anywhere you would see her, she would have her bright red lipstick, her gold jewelry, she loved those colors," said Rodriguez about her mother. “Anything you would want in a mom, it was her.”
The family set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral costs.
There are currently no suspects identified and no arrests have been announced. Police have also not said what led to the gun battle between the people in the two vehicles. As of Monday, the other three men who were also shot in the altercation were said to be in critical condition.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding this offense is asked to contact Detective Frank Serra at 214-662-4552 or by email at frank.serra@dallaspolice.gov.
