Employees and customers of a Maryland bakery are pulling together to help a mother who was badly hurt and lost her son in a shooting in D.C. on Saturday.
Wilfredo Torres, 17, and 16-year-old Jaime Zelaya were walking into an apartment complex on 13th Street NW Saturday evening when a gunman with a high-powered rifle followed them inside a side door of the building and opened fire.
Both of the teens died. They had been best friends since they were little boys, relatives told News4.
Zelaya's mother, Blanca, was also shot. Relatives told News4 she was shot seven times and has gone through multiple surgeries. They said she is expected to survive.
Blanca has worked at Praline Bakery in Bethesda, Maryland, since its opening in 2006.
"If you come here a few times and you order the same thing … next time you come in, she's gonna know what you're gonna get," one employee at the bakery told News4.
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Her coworkers say she remains hospitalized in critical condition with gunshot wounds to her feet and it's uncertain if she will be able to walk again.
The bakery created a GoFundMe page to help pay for her son's funeral and for any costs related to her recovery. So far, it's raised more than $16,000.
"I think it's just a nightmare - a nightmare that you can't wake up from," one of the victim's uncles told News4. He did not want to be identified.
Police Chief Peter Newsham said the shooting did not appear to be random and police are still investigating the motive.
Officers knocked on residents' doors Monday asking for any information about the shooting.
Not far from the apartment complex is a busy area near a Walmart and other stores and restaurants on Georgia Avenue NW. The Metropolitan Police Department's Fourth District station is also nearby.
The shooting kicked off a violent weekend in D.C. Ten people were shot in a 24-hour span. Three of them, including the teens, died.
Police are offering a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that can give information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the killings. Anyone with information can call 202-727-9099 or text anonymously to 50411.
