Florida Man And Son Shoot At Innocent Woman They Mistook For Burglar

Saturday morning, in Winter Haven, Florida, 73-year-old Gino Colonacosta received a notification from his Ring doorbell camera that someone was at his house. A neighbor had been given their package by mistake, and set things right by dropping it off at their front door. When Colonacosta and his 15-year-old son, Rocky, went to the front door, they notice a woman parked in her car down the street, around 100 yards away.

According to NBC News, they approached the woman while armed with .45 caliber firearms. “She sees Gino standing at the back of the vehicle with a gun pointed at her, screaming for her to get out of the car. She thinks: ‘He’s about to carjack me. He’s about to rob me,’” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said. As she attempts to escape, the Colonacostas open fire.

Despite them shooting at the vehicle seven times, the victim left the incident unscathed. She then drove herself out of harm’s way and notified police. While investigating, authorities found bullets lodged in the side of the driver’s seat and a baby’s car seat.

“Our victim was that close to death, and certainly, had there been a baby in the car seat, the baby would have been killed,” Judd said. “And even if the first guy would’ve been the burglary suspect, they shot at the wrong person.”

Though the suspects were quick to mention Florida’s “stand your ground law,” they were reminded that the law is only in place for when someone is trying to make a forcible entry into their home. “You don’t shoot at people,” Judd said. “You don’t leave the security of your home, and go out and chase people down.”

Gina Colonacosta has been charged with attempted felony murder with a weapon, improper exhibit of a firearm, negligence, discharging a firearm in public, parent guardian allowing unlawful possession, conspiracy, and contributing to delinquency. Rocky has been charged with attempted felony murder and illegal possession and use of a firearm.