SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department has released the name of a woman who was shot in killed in front of her three children as she prepared to take them to school.
SAPD identified the victim as Samantha Lopez, 28.
According to a preliminary report released Tuesday, Lopez was found deceased by officers around 7:15 a.m. Monday outside the M.C. Beldon Apartments in the 7500 block of Harlow Drive.
“A mother losing her life, being shot in the presence of her children —it just doesn’t get any worse than that,” said Marta Pelaez, CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services.
Lopez’s children, ages 2, 6 and 10, were not injured and were released to a family member at the scene.
Pelaez says the family members affected by the traumatic event will likely require counseling and treatment as soon as possible.
“They need some professional help -- the entire family -- so that they may assist the children as well,” Pelaez said.
Pelaez says she has offered the help of her therapists, who are trained for circumstances involving traumatic events such as this one.
While investigators detained a person of interest for questioning, no arrests have been made, the report said.
Speaking at the scene Monday to reporters, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said investigators were “relatively certain” that the man detained was Lopez’s estranged husband.
Anyone with information is asked to call SAPD’s Homicide Unit at 210-207-7635.
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