Texas Mom Shot While Shielding Her 3-Year-Old During Home Robbery

A Texas family got the complete opposite of a warm welcome in their new home this week, when two armed intruders entered their apartment, forcing a mother to take a bullet to protect her child.

In tears remembering the Wednesday incident at a Houston apartment complex, Myra Castillo told KHOU-TV with the bullet still in her chest that she didn't think she would live.

"I was just sad I was not going to see my kids grow up," she said.

The mother demonstrated how she started to protect her son from a gunman who invaded her home this week. (Image source: KHOU-TV)

KHOU reported that the family had just moved into the apartment this week, leading them to think that's why they might have been targeted.

KPRC-TV reported that Castillo's husband and his father, the young children's grandfather, were also shot with a stungun. At one point, a gunman pointed the firearm at Castillo's oldest daughter, 10-year-old Melanie Salazar.

"They were pointing the gun on the back of my head and I thought it was my dad, and I turned around and I see a black guy with a gun right here," Salazar told KHOU.

The gunman also pointed a firearm at this 10-year-old's head. (Image source: KHOU-TV)

Castillo was hovering over her 3-year-old son on the ground when a bullet bounced off the wall and hit her.

"I don't know you go somewhere else…you just feel something burning inside of you," Castillo told KHOU of the feeling. "You don't know where you were shot or what happened."

In the end, the news station reported that the suspects made off with only a cellphone and a wallet with $30 inside. They had tried to steal the family's TV but dropped it and fled.

Other residents at the apartment complex said a rash in crime there makes them feel unsafe. KHOU reported the Houston Police Department has received 35 calls for law enforcement from this location within the last 30 days.

Young Melanie Salazar's message to the gunmen: "You're breaking families and families always need to be together."

Watch KHOU-TV's report:

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Front page image via Shutterstock.