23-year-old woman left partially paralyzed after being shot by boyfriend
Juan Moreno
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29-year-old Carlos Moreno, of South Bend, has been charged with two counts of Aggravated Battery, a level 3 Felony, one count of Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon, a Level 5 Felony, two counts of Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, a level 5 Felony, and one count of Criminal Recklessness, a level 6 Felony.
On Wednesday, the South Bend Police Department received a call stating someone had been shot near the Federal Bankruptcy Court. The shooting was unrelated to any court proceedings.
Police arrived to find a 23-year-old woman, later identified as Moreno's girlfriend, suffering from a gunshot wound to her back. Police say Moreno was attempting to render aid to her when they arrived.
Officers say while they were with Moreno, he told them to just take him to jail and that there were two guns in the backpack near where his girlfriend had been shot.
The woman was then taken to Memorial Hospital for medical treatment while Moreno was taken to SBPD for an interview.
Moreno told police the woman was his girlfriend and that they were at the library before they walked to Michoacan Supermarket at 425 S. Main Street.
He told the police as they were walking back to the library, he had his Springfield Hellcat 9mm handgun in his shorts pocket.
Moreno said while he was giving her a hug, his gun accidentally went off and struck her in the back. He told authorities he didn't know the gun was loaded. Moreno then showed the detective his shorts pocket.
The detective said he observed there was no hole or other signs that a gun had been fired from inside his pocket.
Detectives spoke with Ray Wolfenbarger, a Firearm and Toolmark Examiner, who advised the make and model of Moreno's handgun make it impossible for it to have discharged in the manner Moreno described.
Moreno told police it was his fault and his “accident” that his girlfriend was shot. He said he was hugging her with both arms around her when the gun went off inside his pocket without him touching it with his hands.
Officers found a spent projectile to the east of where the 23-year-old had fallen. Medical personnel also found a spent 9mm casing in the woman's clothing at Memorial Hospital.
Authorities say comparison analysis of the firearm located in the backpack with the projectile and casing is pending.
Authorities were able to view footage of the incident outside the Bankruptcy Court from the court's cameras.
In the video, police say they saw Moreno walking with his girlfriend on Western Avenue from Main Street. The view then portrayed Moreno walking behind her and he appeared to be trying to get around her.
Police then observed Moreno walking close to her with his right arm behind her when she suddenly dropped to the ground, after being shot.
Police say it appeared Moreno had an object, consistent with a handgun, in his hand which he then put in his right shorts pocket after the woman fell.
Authorities say the video is inconsistent with Moreno’s statement regarding the handgun accidentally going off while in his pocket. Police say Moreno was also observed picking something up and making a throwing motion to the east.
Authorities say this is consistent with where the projectile was later recovered by officers. Police then observed Moreno putting items in the backpack. Moreno then calls 911 and appears to attempt to render aid to his girlfriend.
Officers spoke to witnesses who advised they heard a shot go off and observed the victim on the ground with Moreno next to her. Moreno told witnesses a gun had accidently gone off while in a backpack.
After surgery, the woman spoke with detectives at the hospital and said she was walking with Moreno when she was shot and fell. She told police she's unsure how she was shot.
Medical personnel informed officers the woman has an entrance wound to her lower back and an exit wound to her lower abdomen, in the front. Additionally, medical personnel said the victim sustained a spinal injury from the gunshot.
The 23-year-old woman currently has no feeling or use of one leg.