Gang May Have Intended Bullet for Sister : Drive-By Shooting Kills Mother as She Watches TV

A 33-year-old mother was killed in a drive-by shooting while watching television in her living room Tuesday night in Southeast San Diego. Three of her children and her sister were home at the time, police said.

Eugenina Astorga was struck in the head by a bullet that had pierced a window of her home in the 600 block of Quail Street, police said.

Astorga was taken by paramedics to UC San Diego Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead about 9:45 p.m.

Witnesses told police that they heard several shots and saw a vehicle leave the area at the time of the incident.

Homicide and gang detectives said Wednesday that they believe the incident was gang-related. They were not available for further comment.

No arrests have been made.

According to KGTV (Channel 10), police think that the bullet might have been meant for Astorga’s 14-year-old sister, Leticia Estudillo. Estudillo acknowledged Wednesday evening on the air that she is a gang member.

The shooting occurred on the same day that the Police Department reported successes by their 12-day-old Gang Suppression Unit.

Police announced that, as of Monday, the unit had made 60 arrests, almost half of involved known gang members. The unit also had seized $2,989 in cash, six cars, five pistols, and quantities of PCP, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.