Source: Sacramento Bee
A woman panhandling in downtown Sacramento Monday pulled out a gun and shot a disabled man who refused to give her money, scattering a terrified crowd gathered at a busy bus stop, police said.
The victim, identified by family members as Frank Perez, 54, of Linda, Yuba County, was shot in the abdomen. He remained in critical condition at UC Davis Medical Center, a spokeswoman said Tuesday morning. Family members said he is expected to survive.
A short time after the shooting, police arrested Audrey Jackson, 47, who has no known address. She was spotted by a Regional Transit bus driver, who matched the radioed description of the shooter to a passenger in his bus and notified police.
Police boarded the bus at Riverside Boulevard and Broadway and she was arrested on a charge of suspicion of attempted homicide.
Relatives of Perez, who walks with a cane and has cerebral palsy, poured into the hospital lobby from all over Northern California on Monday night.
"Why would someone ask money from someone who is obviously disabled?" asked his younger brother, Adrian Perez. "This is really outrageous."
Frank Perez had been waiting for a bus on a bench near J and Sixth streets at about 3:30 p.m. when the woman approached him, said Sacramento Police Officer Konrad Von Schoech.
She asked for money and, when Perez refused, she shot him once in the abdomen, then took aim again but the gun wouldn't fire, according to Sgt. Stephen Lau.
Police had conflicting reports about whether the woman had approached other people in the area for money.
Witnesses said the shooter walked to Ninth Street and boarded a bus.
Adrian Perez, who lives in Natomas and is publisher of the Latino Journal, a bimonthly publication, said his older brother works for the state Water Resources Control Board, delivering office supplies.
He lived in Sacramento until a month ago when he moved to Linda to be near his mother who is recovering from surgery, relatives said. He caught the 3:30 p.m. Yuba-Sutter Transit every workday at the bus stop.
Family members described Frank Perez as a man of strong opinions and said he would certainly decline to fork over money to someone who appeared able-bodied.
The bold shooting terrified the late afternoon crowd gathered near the bus stop just feet from busy J Street. One of the two benches at the bus stop was bloodstained Monday evening as officers worked.
Fred Thomas of San Francisco was getting money from an ATM machine when he heard the gunfire. He turned to see about a dozen people scrambling and screaming.
"I was thinking this can't be real," he said. People were able to flag down a passing firetruck, Thomas said. Firefighters called an ambulance.
After the shooting, Joe Huddleston was walking along J Street when the suspect passed him, mumbling to herself, he said.
Adrian Perez, who said his brother hails from a large family, said: "I also pray for this woman because there is something obviously very wrong with her. You don't go out and shoot a total stranger when they don't give you money."
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