SACRAMENTO, Calif. — What should have been a week of preparation for Brandon Martin and Monica Delgadillo's daughter's birthday has turned into plans for the young girl's funeral.
For Martin and Delgadillo, Isabel Martin was their eldest child. They said she was killed after her own uncle opened fire on another man that he had an altercation with Tuesday night at the Marina Vista Community. The other man was also killed during the shooting.
The two parents said they were visiting a family member and leaving the area when they encountered the male victim, who was described as belligerent. Martin and Delgadillo said they were caught off guard when 22-year-old Tyrice Martin came running out of the house shooting at the man and one of the bullets hit Isabel.
"The image is burning in my brain of her right there," Brandon Martin, the suspect's brother, said.
Tyrice Martin was ultimately arrested and booked into jail for homicide, according to the Sacramento Police Department.
Isabel's parents said they only learned afterward that the two men had an argument over cigarettes earlier this week. Isabel's father says he warned his brother that gun violence is never a solution.
"If he had not been trying to prove a point to this man and listened to what I said, both lives would still be here," he said.
"If you see this bro, I love you, bro, but you crossed the line... Words can't explain what you took from me, bro. I just need to know why you did this to me. I just want to know why," he added.
Isabel's parents were left heartbroken.
"She's innocent, sweet. She never did anything wrong to nobody, very happy," Delgadillo.
Her parents said Isabel dreamed of being a blogger. Despite sometimes getting bullied in school, the family said she always made new friends. She leaves behind a two-year-old brother.
The family said they are now homeless and have started a GoFundMe to help lay Isabel to rest.
In the meantime, her father is begging for answers as his family is torn apart by his brother's alleged actions.
"Let me know, so I can move on and not blame you for what you did to my daughter," he said.
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