HANFORD, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — A family is mourning the loss of a young mother in Hanford as questions regarding who shot her remain unanswered.
Udean Silva describes her daughter, 20-year-old Nana Jeff Silva, as a loving young mother of two.
“She was outgoing, she was entertaining, and she loved to dance. She was just funny. She was a happy girl,” said Silva. “She did everything for them.”
Udean says Nana’s toddler daughter looks just like her, adding that her five-month-old baby will never get to know her mom.
Nana’s life was cut short after Hanford police say a group of about five men entered her home on Holt Avenue on Friday around midnight.
A loved one tells our news partner ABC 30 Action News she heard the young mother pleading with the shooters, saying her last words were “Please don’t do this, there are children here.”
“It’s unfortunate, and it seems from our investigation she was an innocent bystander in the whole situation,” says Hanford Police Lt. Chris Barker. “This feels like a targeted event. We don’t feel anyone else is in danger in the community. We believe there was some type of connection to the victim. We just don’t know what it is.”
Dozens of bullet holes, some seen from the outside of the home, show the shooters were reckless, merely missing a mother and children, ages 2 to 17, sleeping inside.
“There were bullet holes in the mattress that one of them was sleeping on, like underneath him and above him through the windows. So, it’s pretty much a miracle that nobody else, none of the children, or anyone else inside the residence was shot,” explains Lt. Barker.
Detectives are working to narrow down who could have committed such a heinous crime.
As for her family, “It’s heavy, trying to deal with the tragedy that happened to my daughter and dealing with the passing, it just hurts,” expresses Udean. “Not knowing who did it, it’s just mind-exhausting.”
For Nana’s family, through this nightmare, they have decided to donate her organs and help give others a second chance at life.
Her mother described Nana as a giving person.
“She would help anybody. She had a big heart,” said Udean.
Nana’s Organ Donation Honor Walk will take place Friday afternoon at Kaweah Health Medical Center in Visalia.
The family has created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.
