SACRAMENTO, May 21 (UPI) -- The weekend death of a 10-year-old California girl, shot as she sat in her living room, was not an accident, police investigators say.
Elvira Campos was killed Saturday night as she watched television at her home in the community of North Highlands near Sacramento. Four holes, made by bullets shot from outside the home, pierced the living room window barely a foot from the girl's head, The Sacramento Bee reported Tuesday.
"The shooters, standing outside the front door, absolutely knew they were shooting into a room with a child," Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Jason Ramos said.
Ramos added it was being explored whether the girl's death is linked to a shooting April 20 at a children's birthday party a mile away, in which a 10-year-old victim, Eric Raya-Ramirez, was shot five times.
"He lived, but the crime remains unsolved. We have nothing definitive to establish a connection, but that may be why Elvira's family could have been targeted," Ramos said, citing a mentality of reciprocal assaults.
He added that neither Elvira nor her migrant worker parents, Ernesto Campos, 47, and Imelda Tinoco, 45, who were wounded in the attack, were gang members.
Ramos said Elivira's 20-year-old brother, however, "has not been forthcoming about any beefs or rivalries he's had with anyone." The sheriff's spokesman said the brother has no criminal record.
