The family of a Redlands woman shot and killed in front of her 4-year-old son spoke out publicly for the first time on Thursday after the devastating loss.
Relatives of Kacey McKinney, 31, say it's hard to believe something so tragic happened to someone so sweet and caring.
"She was an amazing friend, mother, cousin, daughter," said Jennifer Bowen, the victim's cousin. "Everybody loved her. She was the most sweetest, caring person you could ever meet."
Bowen still can't believe her cousin is gone.
"It's just awful" Bowen said.
Co-workers at Terracina Surgical Arts say the medical assistant treated every patient like a close friend.
"It's really hard because almost every single person who walks in here wants to know where Kacey is. And we have to tell them," said co-worker Tina Mills.
Bradley Woss, 33, went to McKinney's apartment and shot her to death on Tuesday around 9:30 p.m., police said.
Bowen says Woss is Kacey's ex-boyfriend and father of their son.
"He's been threatening her for awhile," Bowen said.
Bowen says during the shooting Kacey McKinney's current boyfriend grabbed the boy and jumped from a second-story balcony to escape the barrage of bullets.
McKinney's boyfriend was not struck by gunfire, but he was injured in the fall. The boy is OK.
A neighbor says he told police that he saw his mother get shot in the face.
"He took this baby's mother away from him and now he's basically left with no parents," Bowen said. The family has started a gofundme for funeral costs.
