Just before 2:00 p.m., on October 24, 2022, Mesa Police Officers responded to the entrance of Superstition Springs Mall, located at 1342 S. Power, for a reported shooting. The caller stated a woman was shot by a bullet that came through the front car windshield.
When officers arrived, they found evidence indicating that a gun had been fired from inside the vehicle the victim was riding in.
Officers questioned the 16-year-old boy and learned that the boy was “playing” with a handgun in the back seat of the vehicle, when he pulled the trigger accidentally. The bullet went through the back of the front passenger seat and struck 20-year-old Elena Hernandez.
Elena was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
The 16-year-old boy was booked into Durango Juvenile Detention Center for the following charges:
ARS 13-1103A1; Manslaughter, a class 2 felony
ARS 13-3111A; Minor in Possession of a Firearm, a class 6 felony
ARS 2809A1; Tampering with Physical Evidence, a class 6 felony
ARS 3107A; Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm, a class 6 felony