Family Seeks Answers After Father Shot While Holding 5-Week-Old Daughter
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A father and husband, who was shot in the face while holding his 5-week-old daughter over Halloween weekend, is out of the hospital and recovering at a home in San Francisco with round-the-clock care.
His husband Jimmie, who declined to share his last name for privacy reasons, is speaking out -- pleading for anyone who may know something about the horrifying crime to come forward.
Marco was holding their infant daughter in their living room around 7:30 p.m. on October 30th, when a dozen shots were fired at and into their home.
Jimmie was preparing dinner in the kitchen when the shooting happened on Peralta Street near 12th Street in West Oakland.
"It sounded like a string of firecrackers," said Jimmie. "We had our blinds up, you could clearly see in the house, and he was holding our infant and then our 4-year-old was next to him. And they shot anyway."
"All I could see on the floor was a pool of blood and his teeth," he said.
Jimmie said the bullets came from two weapons, according to Oakland police.
Marco was shot in the mouth and his jaw is currently wired shut. He needs a feeding tube, and his recovery may take 2 years.
"Thankfully, he's an incredibly positive person, and he's always just really been focused on the surgeries," said Jimmie. "I think there was a lot of fear and just waiting in those first couple of days and in the last couple of days, I've gotten really angry inside, because it just doesn't make sense."
The couple has no idea why they would be targeted, though they're not ruling out that it may have been a hate crime.
"We're just a gay couple living in West Oakland, don't get involved with anyone, we have our friends and our family and that's how we spend our weekends. So I can't - we can't wrap our heads around any of this," he said. "I just want someone caught."
The couple's youngest child suffered abrasions to her face from the debris. Their 4-year-old was not physically harmed but is dealing with emotional trauma.
There are no suspects at this time. Police told the couple that officers are looking for surveillance video that may have captured the getaway car or the crime.
If you'd like to support the family during its recovery, this is their gofundme page.
