A Young girl has been fatally shot after her father engaged in a violent road rage-fueled fight with a man who opened fire at their family car.
Arizona man Sidney Garrand, 48, is facing murder charges after eight-year-old Cassidy Moreno was struck by gunfire and sat in a pool of her own blood while her mother watched in horror, court documents said.
Phoenix police responded to the scene of the alleged crime before 11am on October 27 where they learned more about the violent tragedy.
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The horror event began at a four-way stop in Phoenix after Cassidy Moreno’s father, 28, picked up his three daughters from school along with his wife.
The father said that Garrand seemed to become upset when he had turned left out in front of him, according to documents.
Garrand whipped his Jeep around and began to pursue the family. He pulled up beside the car and waved while the father ignored him, according to his account.
Witnesses and the father say the incident turned violent when Garrand pulled up behind the family, got out of the car, and punched the dad in the face through the open window, documents show according to AZ Family.
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The father claims that he then got out of the car and retaliated out of fear for his family’s lives.
Documents say he exited the vehicle with a folding knife and “started swinging” before the two engaged in a tussle.
Witnesses described a horrifying scene where Garrand reportedly held onto the father’s neck while he desperately attempted to fight with his knife in hand.
Police said the dad even managed to stab Garrand near the neck before returning to his car.
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As he drove away, Garrand retrieved a handgun from the passenger side of his Jeep, according to reports.
Witnesses and the family said they heard multiple gunshots. According to documents, the mother turned around and saw her little girl bleeding in the backseat.
The mom called 911 and officials raced Cassidy to the hospital in critical condition. She died two days later.
Garrand was also hospitalized in critical condition with cuts to his neck, right shoulder, and upper chest area. The girl’s father sustained non-life-threatening injuries to his fingers.
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After Garrand was released, he was then arrested and booked into a county jail on Monday.
“I think for us it’s a matter of letting people know that she wasn’t just the eight-year-old victim,” said Cassidy’s aunt Thali Vargas.
“That she was somebody’s daughter, sister, niece. I think for me what’s really hard is it didn’t have to escalate to that point on either end.”
The father claims that Garrand knew the family was in the car as he looked in the backseat before the two fought, court papers allege.
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“For anyone, it shouldn’t have to end this way right?” said Vargas.
“An inconvenience on the road shouldn’t have to end in, not just for us but that man is now in prison, or jail I’m sorry.
“Did you get to where you were going? Did you get what you wanted out of the situation?”
A GoFundMe created by Vargas to raise funds for Cassidy Moreno’s funeral has amassed over $3,000… Garrand faces homicide and assault charges.
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