Phoenix Girl Killed By Stray Bullet While Sitting In Her Bedroom, Suspect Arrested

Two days after a 15-year-old girl was struck by a stray bullet inside her home in Phoenix, police have arrested a man in connection with the incident.

Fernando Pina, 35, was arrested Sunday based on information provided by an eyewitness about the shooting, which happened Friday night, reported ABC 15.

Graciela Molina was inside the second-story bedroom of her house when the bullet hit her in the neck. She later died at a hospital. Her 11-year-old sister and father were also in the same room when the shooting happened, court documents said.

Police said the witness noticed Pina firing a handgun multiple times while standing by a block wall that separated a vacant lot from the neighborhood. The wall was southwest of Graciela's home. Investigators discovered three spent shell casings from the spot. The witness also identified Pina as the man who fired the gun.

When police questioned Pina, he admitted to owning guns but denied firing them on the night the girl was shot. Officers later found a Glock pistol and a spent shell casing in Pina's car that matched with those found in the vacant lot, the court documents read.

While it was unclear as to why Pina fired shots from the vacant lot, police do not think Graciela was the target. Officers said it was a stray bullet that killed her. They found a bullet hole in the window of Graciela's bedroom and the bullet was found in the wall opposite to it.

"They just heard her yell, they didn't know. She just started bleeding from her neck, but they didn't know what happened, they didn't know how it happened. No one heard gunshots," Graciela's cousin Donovan Jimenez told AZFamily

Pina is facing multiple charges that include reckless manslaughter, endangerment and discharge of a firearm in city limits. His bond is set at $750,000 bond. He will appear in court for a preliminary hearing on July 7.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe Page has been started to assist Graciela's family with funeral expenses.