Mariela Marquez, 34, was shot in the head in the office where she worked as a cleaner in the town of Yerba Buena, in the Argentine province of Tucuman
Mariela Marquez, 34, was shot in the head by accident (
Image: Newsflash)
A cleaner who worked hard to provide for her children has died after being accidentally shot in the head by a man trying to kill his former school bully.
Mariela Marquez, 34, was shot in the head in the office where she worked in the town of Yerba Buena, in the Argentine province of Tucuman, on Wednesday, October 13.
The alleged perpetrator was 29-year-old Geronimo Helguera, who reportedly entered the workplace in a rage looking to kill a former classmate who bullied him in high school.
Witnesses told the police the man was carrying a gun and seemed out of his mind at the time of the shooting.
Mariela was taken to Hospital Padilla in a critical condition after being accidentally hit in the head by a bullet.
Despite the doctors’ best efforts, she died from her injuries the following day.
The target of the attack was reportedly a man whose surname was stated as Ledesma.
After insulting and threatening Ledesma, the suspect opened fire, but the bullet hit the cleaner, who was passing through that part of the office at the time.
The suspect was arrested and taken to the local police station, and cops were also able to retrieve the alleged murder weapon he had thrown into a street bin.
Judge Isabel de los Angeles Mendez referred him for a psychiatric examination and, upon conclusion, ordered his admission to the Obarrio Psychiatric Hospital in the state capital of San Miguel de Tucuman.
Mariela’s brother-in-law, Gustavo Campos, told reporters she cleaned offices, buildings and galleries “so her children were never left lacking anything”.
Former classmates of the suspect confirmed he had gone to high school with Ledesma, but they said they did not recall any problems between the two.
The suspect’s assigned lawyers, Ernesto Basclini and Camilo Atim Antuni, highlighted that he had “been on medication for a long time” and described the incident as “a real tragedy”.
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