Bayview mom killed by stray bullet in front of her 3 children

Blanca Soza (left) consoles her niece Brianna Soza, 13, in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. Brianna’s mother Maria Lourdes Soza died when she was hit by gunshots in a shootout in front of her Bayview neighborhood home on Revere Avenue Tuesday afternoon. Blanca is Lourdes' sister. less Blanca Soza (left) consoles her niece Brianna Soza, 13, in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. Brianna’s mother Maria Lourdes Soza died when she was hit by gunshots in a shootout in front of her ... more Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 19 Caption Close Bayview mom killed by stray bullet in front of her 3 children 1 / 19 Back to Gallery

For a moment, she thought her mom had been struck by a bird. But as the woman collapsed in front of the family’s San Francisco home, 13-year-old Brianna Soza realized it was much worse.

With her three children just feet away, Maria Lourdes Soza — known to loved ones as Lourdes — was slain Tuesday afternoon by an errant bullet fired from one of two vehicles that sped by the family’s duplex in the Bayview neighborhood. It was one of the most shocking killings in a violent start to the year in the city.

“My brother was crying. My sister was crying. And I was crying a lot,” Brianna, overwhelmed by grief, said Wednesday morning as a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers grew in front of the home at Revere Avenue and Ingalls Street. Blood was still visible on the sidewalk and gate of the home.

Police were investigating Wednesday whether Lourdes Soza’s death was linked to the arrival, just minutes later, of a blood-soaked woman at a nearby restaurant. The woman, who had been shot, reported that a dead man — identified later as 38-year-old Donte Glenn — was inside a bullet-riddled Infiniti SUV outside.

No arrests have been made in either of the homicides, the eighth and ninth of the year in a city that saw 45 killings in 2014, with a 10th being reported Wednesday night.

No word was given by police on whether the shot that hit Lourdes Soza was intended for the occupants of the Infiniti. Police have not definitively linked the two shootings.

Out of the blue

The shot that killed Lourdes Soza came without warning. The 32-year-old mother had just picked up Brianna, her 9-year-old brother and her 3-year-old sister from school. The group, along with Lourdes Soza’s boyfriend and a neighbor, were standing in front of the home at 4:15 p.m. when the two vehicles flew by and a hail of shots rang out.

Lourdes Soza pushed her youngest daughter out of harm’s way but was struck once in the head. The children began to cry as her boyfriend shouted for help and tried to give her aid. Paramedics arrived and rushed Lourdes Soza to San Francisco General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Brianna said she was “praying hard at the hospital,” hoping a miracle would save her mother, who was born and raised in Nicaragua and worked at a Subway sandwich shop at San Francisco International Airport. But then the family learned what happened and they “started yelling and crying.”

“I can’t believe I lost my mom. I can’t believe my mom just passed away,” Brianna said as tears streamed down her face. “I can’t do anything without her. I miss her so much. I’ve been crying since yesterday until I fell asleep.”

She said her mother wanted her “to be a good person, get good grades and have a good career.” She continued, “She makes me laugh. She makes me smile. And I love her very much and she loves me too — she loves her family.”

It was about 10 minutes after Lourdes Soza was shot that police learned a man and a woman with gunshot wounds showed up on the 200 block of Bayshore Boulevard. The blood-covered woman went into the Old Clam House restaurant, where workers called 911.

“There’s a dead body outside,” the wounded woman declared, according to Clam House employee Erika Navarrete, 38. She said she looked outside and saw a body in the passenger seat of the black Infiniti SUV, which had at least a half dozen bullet holes in the driver’s side door and windshield.

“At first, I was just concerned for her and wanted to help,” Navarrete said. “I got scared when I saw the body, but I think I was in shock. The police and ambulance showed up within minutes.”

The woman, who was not identified, was rushed to a hospital and was expected to survive, while Glenn was pronounced dead. The Chronicle reported in 1996 that Glenn, then 19 years old, survived being shot in the buttocks and forearm as he left a store near Third Street and LaSalle Avenue in the Bayview.

Looking into connection

Tuesday’s homicides were being investigated separately, but police have not ruled out the possibility that the Infiniti was one of the vehicles that sped by Lourdes Soza’s home minutes earlier.

“Homicide investigators are approaching the investigation to see what connection the shooting might have to the Ingalls location,” said Capt. Robert O’Sullivan, the Bayview Station chief.

He spoke of the shock of Lourdes Soza’s death, saying officers were emotional after returning to the station late Tuesday, and that the Bayview community will need to heal.

“Regardless of the amount of training you have with these types of incidents, this one really hit home for all of us, especially knowing the victim was a young mother shot and killed in front of her family,” he said. He added he was “numb for a bit. This was so very different because you see a mother, grieving children and neighbors in shock. This was a very out-of-the-ordinary type of scene.

“Gun violence is like throwing a pebble into a pond,” O’Sullivan said. “It has ripple effects. When the immediacy wears off, the effects are far from wearing off. There’s a strong need for support.”

City officials have vowed to fight the recent violence in San Francisco, which included a Jan. 9 shooting at the edge of Hayes Valley that left four young men dead in a parked car.

“It’s not just one victim or one family but the entire community that’s affected by this violence,” said Supervisor Malia Cohen, who represents the Bayview.

Forming a task force

On Tuesday, Cohen and the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to establish a Gun Violence Prevention Task Force that will deploy resources to the southeast part of the city, where many violent crimes are happening. The task force will also coordinate efforts among 11 groups that get general fund dollars for violence prevention.

“The fabric that makes this community strong and resilient is being slowly unwoven,” Cohen said Wednesday. “I’ve got seniors and youth that are afraid to walk the streets. Businesses are suffering. Everyday people’s quality of life is deteriorating. The senseless violence has got to stop.”

Lourdes Soza’s sisters — Blanca Soza, 23, Maria Noelia Soza, 27, and 28-year-old Maria Jose Soza — visited the street memorial Wednesday morning, sitting in despair among the candles and flowers while neighbors stopped by to offer condolences.

“These kids were her everything,” Blanca Soza said. “No matter what, she would always be there for every single one of us.”

Ari Colman, who lives a block from the home on Ingalls Street, gave a tearful hug to the grieving relatives. She has two boys, ages 15 and 6, and walks them to the bus stop in front of the Soza home every weekday.

“There’s no reason she should be gunned down in front of her children,” Colman said. “It’s just not fair. Just because we live here, we shouldn’t be subject to gunfire — we hear gunfire every night.”

Lourdes Soza was looking forward to being a bridesmaid for her sister, Maria Noelia, who had recently gotten engaged. According to Brianna, her mother was working out plans to get married as well.

Brianna said that when she woke up Wednesday morning, she thought she heard her mom — and felt her touch.

“I can’t do this without my mom,” she said. “My mom is special to my life.”

Chronicle staff writer Kale Williams contributed to this report.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky