Inset left: Joanna Chalup Cortez (Maricopa County Sheriff”s Office). Inset right: Qahsiem Sinclair (GoFundMe). Background: The apartment complex where Chalup Cortez allegedly shot Qahsiem in Phoenix, Ariz. (Google Maps).
An Arizona woman is behind bars after shooting a 4-year-old boy in the face, according to law enforcement in the Grand Canyon State.
Joanna Chalup Cortez, 29, stands accused of two counts of aggravated assault and one count each of discharging a firearm at a residence and disorderly conduct with a firearm, according to Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office records.
The underlying incident occurred on Jan. 6, at an apartment complex located near the corner of 29th Street and Weir Avenue in Phoenix.
Around noon on the day in question, the lone shot rang out and Qahsiem Sinclair was struck in the cheek, family told Phoenix-based ABC affiliate KNXV. Something of a miraculous trajectory saved the little boy’s life as the bullet went in and out, striking some of his teeth.
“Just by inches, my son would not be here by now,” the boy’s father, Meishaq Sinclair, told the local TV station. “It’s crazy, I thought that was my son’s last breath. I thought that was it.”
What led up to the shooting allegedly began hours earlier that day, according to court documents obtained by independent Phoenix-based TV station KTVK and local CBS affiliate KPHO, which collectively broadcast as “Arizona’s Family.”
The boy’s mother was hanging out with Chalup Cortez and another woman who previously dated the defendant’s boyfriend, according to law enforcement. At some point, the defendant and the third woman began arguing, police said. Eventually, Chalup Cortez allegedly called her boyfriend to inform him she was kicking him out of her house.
At around 11 a.m., the women went to pick up the ex-boyfriend, police said. Then, all four drove to the Somo Lofts on Weir Avenue, where the women dropped the man off and subsequently drove off.
There, the man’s brother lives with his girlfriend and son, Qahsiem.
At some point within the next hour, the two men began livestreaming on social media, police said. This content, however, was much to the chagrin of Chalup Cortez, court documents allege.
Next, the woman, apparently incensed, drove back to the apartment complex and began honking and demanding someone come outside, according to law enforcement. While being ignored, the defendant allegedly texted and called Qahsiem’s mother, telling her that she was going to “shoot up the house,” according to the court documents.
Eventually, the defendant parked outside, got out of her vehicle, shouted another demand along those lines, pulled out a rifle and fired, according to surveillance footage obtained by Arizona’s Family.
By the time police arrived, Chalup Cortez had left the scene of the crime, police said. The child was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was treated for the gunshot wound and is expected to recover.
“He was bleeding so much it was like a movie,” the boy’s father said, while also reflecting on his son’s current state: “Playing with his toys right now, still in shock, still traumatized a little bit.”
Qahsiem’s family set up a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses, calling the incident “absolutely heartbreaking.”
On Wednesday, the defendant turned herself in, according to a press release issued by the Phoenix Police Department.
The victim’s family shared a social media post with Arizona’s Family, which is said to have been written by the defendant in which she appears to take responsibility for the shooting but insists she did not mean to hurt the little boy.
“I will be turning myself in because I did NOT intentionally hurt a CHILD,” the post reads, in relevant part. “How can you say I feel no remorse when I didn’t even know until I was called.”
The defendant also allegedly pleaded her case with the boy’s mother directly, the family said. Chalup Cortez allegedly sent the woman a series of text messages disclaiming knowledge that Qahsiem was outside at the time, Arizona’s Family reported.
Those all-caps text messages read:
“IM GOING TO THE COPS DONT WORRY…”
“IM ON THE WAY…”
and
“BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW HE CAME OUT.”
Sinclair took issue with that account. He told the TV station:
My brother’s (ex) girlfriend was outside the house going crazy and as I’m about to go see what’s going on, my older brother tells me to stay back. ‘I’m going to go talk to her.’ My son, he thought when my brother was going outside, he thought it was time to go outside and grabbed his scooter. As soon as the first person opened the door, happened to be my son walking out with his scooter, she still did what she did. She saw the kid right there and still decided to do what she did. We need justice for Qahsiem.
Chalup Cortez is being detained in the Maricopa County Jail on $500,000 bond.
