Friends and family of a San Diego woman fatally shot Saturday night are demanding justice in her death.
Police say Sylvianita Widman, 27, was shot at point-blank range after getting out of her car and approaching another driver at a stoplight near the city’s Skyline neighborhood, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Authorities responded to reports of gunfire around 5:30 that evening and found Widman in a nearby parking lot, suffering from a gunshot wound. Despite efforts to save her life, the young mother of two was pronounced dead at a hospital about an hour after the shooting.
“How am I going to explain that to my daughter when she gets older?” said Cory Evans, the father of Widman’s 2-year-old daughter. “Christmases, and as she gets older, her prom. Both of (the girls) knowing that their momma’s not there.”
FOX 5 San Diego reported that police say Widman was driving northbound with a friend when she stopped at a red light and got out of her vehicle to approach the driver of the car in front of them. That’s when witnesses said they heard a gunshot and saw the woman stumble off before collapsing in the parking lot.
The gunman fled the scene. Police describe him as an African-American man in his 20s or 30s. He was last seen driving a black two-door Mercedes-Benz.
“That’s wrong to take a woman’s life away from her kids. Two beautiful babies,” the victim’s aunt, Denise, told the station. “(I hope for) justice, and I hope he gets what he deserves.”
Family and friends gathered at the shooting site Sunday to mourn Widman, leaving behind candles, teddy bears and messages of remembrance. The memorial for the young woman has continued to grow.
Evans said he’s shocked by the incident and is still trying to make sense of it all.
“Everybody else is going to see this and move on with their life, but this is something that I’m going to have to deal with every day for the rest of my life, and the rest of my daughter’s life,” he said. “I just want to mourn her and let her soul rest and get justice for her daughters. That’s what’s most important.”
It’s still unclear what led Widman to get out of her car, but authorities are still investigating.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call San Diego PD homicide detectives at (619) 531-2293, or the anonymous Crime Stoppers tip line at (888) 580-8477.
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