Ismael Cordova: Devastated family of teen shot dead by homeowner for trespassing want answers
NORTHGLENN, COLORADO: A pair of trespassing teenagers were shot and killed by the homeowner on Sunday, October 2, after they tried to break into his backyard in Northglenn, Colorado. The police revealed the teens were armed with a semi-automatic handgun and a machete, 9 News reported.
The deputies haven’t released the identity of the two teens but one of them was identified as 16-year-old Ismael Cordova. Cordova's mother Christina said that she doesn’t believe that killing her son or the other teenager was the right way of handling the situation. “He wasn’t a bad kid. He was just making a dumb decision, and now he’s gone," she told CBS News Colorado.
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“What they were doing in his yard by his house is not right, but that’s not the right way to handle it. That’s not the right way to handle it,” Natasha Rodriguez, Cordova's stepmother told CBS News Colorado, adding, "This lady called me where the house was, told me what happened that two kids were shot. We thought he was at his girlfriend's house, she called me at 8:30 at night to say she hadn't heard from him." Ismael leaves has four sisters and two brothers.
Cordova's grandmother Celestina said, "It's senseless. He didn't have to lose his life over this, he could have given them a warning. They were kids."
According to Northglenn police, the two broke a fence and entered. The homeowner and the duo reportedly exchanged gunfire. The two teens became suspects after officials found them with an airsoft gun that had reportedly been stolen, but, they added that "was not a factor in the shooting,"
On receiving reports of trespassing and felony, deputies arrived on the 11600 block of Pearl Street, south of the intersection of 120th Avenue and Washington Street, at 2 pm. There, they doscovered the two teens were shot by the homeowner. They were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Police have recovered a number of gunshot casings in the backyard but haven’t found out who fired the first shot.
Percival, the homeowner, said, "I was a little concerned about what they were going to use it for because Airsoft rifles look like real guns." The police have launched an investigation into the matter and will present the result of their investigation to the district attorney's office, which will determine what, if any, charges are appropriate.