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Police: Olympian's mother unintended victim of drug dispute

Olympic Athlete-Mother Shot
Posted at 10:27 AM, Apr 12, 2022
and last updated 2022-04-12 11:27:35-04

Police say the mother of a Puerto Rican Olympian killed by a stray bullet in her Connecticut home was an unintended victim of a drug dispute that erupted into the firing of more than 20 gunshots.

Mabel Martinez was shot in the head inside her Waterbury home on Saturday afternoon.

Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said at a news conference on Tuesday that people in two cars got into a shootout outside Martinez's home.

No arrests have been announced.

Police found the two cars and one of the owners and are searching for other suspects.

Martinez was the mother of Puerto Rican Olympic rifle shooter Yarimar Mercado Martinez, who competed in the Olympics in 2016 and last year.

Police said a man in the street who was also involved in the confrontation was shot in the hip but survived, the Associated Press reported.

Police said 15 9mm casings and seven 45-caliber cases were found at the scene, the news outlet reported.

Mercado Martinez, who has been in town from Brazil since last Sunday for an international shooting competition, expressed her anguish on social media.