It was a month ago exactly that a young woman was found bleeding from gunshot wounds in the vicinity of the Ladera Street stairs – which are at the end of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. She survived but is undergoing intensive – and expensive – medical care.
Now, some of the mystery surrounding her shooting has come out. According to her mother – daughter Mya, 19, had been kidnapped by three alleged gang members who attempted to kill her – who have since been arrested.
Mya’s mother, who identified herself as Jill, talked with NBC 7, and gave the family’s story behind the series of incidents
It all began, Jill said, on April 11 when she got a call apparently from her daughter saying she had been kidnapped, was being held for ransom and asked her mother for $2,500. Jill sensed something was wrong. But she was thousands of miles away. She said:
“My daughter would never call me asking for that kind of money because it was her voice, she was calling me, but I could hear people in the background telling her what to say.”
NBC reported:
Jill said that Mya was in the back seat of her captors’ car when they pulled up alongside another driver and shot him in the head. The victim, later identified as Mario Serhan, 59, was found dead after multiple people called 911 to report a driver slumped over the wheel of an SUV that coasted through a Chula Vista intersection. Prosecutors said Serhan was shot because he accidentally made eye contact with the gunman.
Mya. Photo credit: Gofundme page
Jill told the TV station:
“The next day, the detective [was] calling me and telling me they found my daughter shot at the bottom of the stairs at Sunset Cliffs. I was lost, heartbroken. I didn’t know what to think.”
Mya was found with 3 gunshot wounds on the 12th. Jill stated:
“She spent four hours laying in the ocean water at the bottom of Sunset Cliffs. She was severely hypothermic and they said they didn’t expect her to make it.”
Mya had wounds in her neck, upper body, a ruptured spine; she does not have feeling in her arms and legs or from her chest down.
But when she regained consciousness in the hospital, Mya gave detectives names and identities of her kidnappers, 1 woman and 2 men, who were all arrested May 4. They face charges of kidnapping, attempted murder, and murder in connection with the shooting of Mario Serhan in Chula Vista.
On Monday, May 7, they were denied bail, as they all could face life in prison if found guilty on all charges related to the two-day crime spree.
Jill said her daughter wants justice for Mario Serhan. Jill also said of her daughter:
“She is in amazing spirits. She’s a trooper. She’s so brave.”
An online fundraising page has been set up to help with medical and travel costs. The page states the following:
My niece was the victim of a near death shooting. Shot three times and left to die on the stairs near the turbulent ocean waters. By the grace of God she was found by a passerby and they called for help.
Arriving at the hospital her body temp was 80 degrees, she was severely hypothermic. She suffered from a gunshot wound to the hip and a second to her neck. The neck one ruptured her ear canal and broke her c5, c6 vertebrae and caused damage to her spinal cord.
She is in good spirits considering what she has been through, however she has a long road ahead of her. Anticipating months of physical therapy. She has already undergone spinal surgery to brace her neck with screws and rods. She is working at getting the feeling back in her fingers and legs.
This fund would help provide assistance for her therapy and medical bills as well as household bills that are accumulating while her mother has had to travel across the country to attend to her while she is critical condition. I created this fund because people love my niece and several have asked how they can help. Anything will be appreciated. I thank you in advance for any prayers as well as donations.
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