Mother of 2 in recovery after being shot by the father of her children
PHOENIX - A 25-year-old mother is recovering the best she can after she was shot twice by her ex-boyfriend. She's now without a job and a home.
"I have glass on my arm from like my elbow to my upper shoulder," says Angelique Herrera.
Herrera was at home with her boyfriend and her two children when she says her ex, 28-year-old Luis Alonso Lopez Gutierrez, tried to break in.
"I told my boyfriend that somebody was there and obviously who it was because I've had prior incidents 2 weeks before that where I've had to call the police," she said.
Angelique says he tried breaking the front and back windows. That's when she ran to her car with her boyfriend.
Phoenix Police say Gutierrez shot at her car as she drove off.
"I didn't know it was a gun yet until I saw his arm and it was bleeding, but I was already in drive and taking off. I didn't even know I was shot either. I just felt a lot of pressure on my stomach," she said.
Herrera was shot twice in the abdomen and her boyfriend was shot in the arm. As she was driving, she called Phoenix Police who had her stop near 29th Ave and McDowell, and they were both rushed to the hospital.
"For him to do that to her, the mother of his children, while his children are there is just mind-boggling. I couldn't believe it," said Rubi Lopez, Herrera's friend.
Court documents reveal Gutierrez fled from DPS on I-10 heading towards Tucson. He was later arrested in Marana after DPS deployed spike strips on his car.
This isn't the first time he's been involved with police.
Court records show Gutierrez bonded out of jail on October 21 and he is not a U.S. citizen, prohibiting him from legally possessing a firearm.
"Ever since he got out, I just had a feeling something was going to be bad because he still wouldn't leave me alone even when he was in jail," Herrera said.
Angelique says after his arrest, Gutierrez called her hours later from jail.
Once Angelique made it home from the hospital, she found out she no longer has a place to live.
"Honestly, it's really hard to recover because the house I was living in - I had to move immediately because it was his sister's house. She was the owner and she wanted us to leave so that was my first day being out so I had a lot of people come help me pack and move my stuff," she said.
She's now focused on recovering and keeping her two children safe.
"I am afraid he will come back and finish killing me," she says. Angelique and her two children are living with a friend temporarily.
Herrera is no longer able to work while she is recovering.
A GoFundMe has been set up for them.