The mother of a Puerto Rican Olympian was killed after being hit by a stray bullet while sewing at her Connecticut home over the weekend, police and her daughter said.
Mabel Martinez, 56, was hit in the head by a gunman who opened fire on a man walking outside her home in Waterbury on Saturday afternoon. She died of her injuries the next day, police said.
The man was shot in the leg and survived.
Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo told The Associated Press investigators believe the shooting was drug-related and that Martinez was not the intended target.
Martinez was the mother of Yarimar Mercado Martinez, a rifleman for the Puerto Rican Olympic team who competed in last year’s Tokyo Summer Games. The 27-year-old also took part in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
The daughter posted a heartbreaking message on social media, expressing her sadness at the sudden, violent death of her mother.
“Why you? why is that? If you would just sit in your house and sew like you used to…” she wrote in Spanish on Facebook.
Yarimar Mercado Martinez is a rifleman on the Puerto Rican Olympic team that competed in the Tokyo Summer Games last year. AP
“There are so many things I have yet to learn from you,” the two-time Olympian said of her mom on Facebook. Puerto Rico Olympic Committee / Youtube
“Two days ago you called me excitedly and asked me to save the date and help you prepare to renew your vows with daddy in Puerto Rico,” she said Sunday.
“There are so many things I still had to learn from you… I was so far away without being able to do anything, I couldn’t even say goodbye to you,” the daughter continued.
According to Gilberto Hernández, president of the Puerto Rico Shooting Association, the Olympian flew to Connecticut from Brazil late Sunday.
Police believe Mabel Martinez was an innocent bystander and not the intended target. Yarimar Mercado Martinez/Facebook
No arrests had been made in the case as of Tuesday morning.Yarimar Mercado Martinez/Facebook
Mercado Martinez said her mother’s remains would be transported to Puerto Rico so family members could say their final goodbyes.
She apologized to her country for not being able to keep up while dealing with her loss.
Police have not identified a suspect and no arrests have been made in the case as of Tuesday morning.
With post wires