MODESTO, Calif. — Family identified Michelle Rose Gonzales, 29, as the Modesto mother killed on Tuesday night.
Gonzales leaves behind a 6-month-old baby boy and a 9-year-old daughter. The deadly shooting happened Tuesday night on Ramsey Drive.
Her family said she was shot and killed right in front of her home by her boyfriend, who is the father of her baby.
"Michelle was a genuine person," Norma, Gonzales' sister-in-law. "She had a big, big heart. She was a wonderful mother. She loved her son and her daughter very much."
The still unnamed suspect had driven from San Jose to shoot Michelle and then drove back before being shot by San Jose police there and pronounced dead.
At the time of the shooting, a neighbor who didn't want to be identified said they heard several shots go off.
"We thought they were fireworks going off, and then we heard screaming," the neighbor said.
Mary Hood, who lives a few houses away, said she saw the lights of police cars in the area and came outside.
"An officer was carrying a toddler and then a little girl that looked like she was around 10 (years old) who was crying, and she said 'They shot, they shot my mother,'" Hood said.
The family said Michelle was involved in a three-year relationship with the suspect that she tried to escape. They said, while he was not physically abusive to her, he was a mentally abusive and jealous person.
"She told my daughter, basically, the problems she was having with them. I guess he had, he thought she was messing around with somebody else and then for this to happen to her, her kids - they're orphans now," Norma said.
The family said Michelle was a "good provider" and supported her family by working as a prep cook at a local restaurant.
The family is trying to setup a GoFundMe account to pay for funeral expenses, which is available HERE.
Domestic violence resources:
- National Domestic Violence Hotline (24/7)
- Voice: (800) 799-7233
- National Human Trafficking Hotline
- Voice: (888) 373-7888
- National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN)
- Voice: (800) 656-HOPE (4673)
- California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA)
- W.E.A.V.E.: Women Escaping a Violent Environment 1-866-920-2952
- RAINN: Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network
- NSVRC: National Sexual Violence Resource Center
- National Sexual Abuse Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE 1-800-656-4673
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