Lorena Rodriguez panicked when she realized a bullet from outside had torn through the wall of her home.
"I got goose bumps," she said. "I got so scared at that moment.”
Police were called to investigate the incident. Luckily, a toaster oven stood between the bullet and the bedroom where her then-6-year-old son, Dominic, was sleeping.
Dominic suffers from Rett Syndrome, which affects his motor skills and speech. If the toaster hadn't been there, he may not be here.
“This little guy is here for a reason," Rodriguez said. "He’s a little miracle.”
The bullet originally brought the police to their home, but they returned Wednesday for Dominic. On the night of the shooting, the four investigating Corpus Christi Police Department officers noticed his birthday was Aug. 31. They were a couple of days late, but they had gifts in tow yesterday.
“Going through something like that is pretty scary and traumatic," their commanding officer Lt. Braden Tackett said. "They just wanted to make the family feel a little bit more at ease, and let them know that we’re still thinking about them, and that we’re still here to help them whenever they need."
And during a time in which police departments are under the microscope across the country, Rodriguez wants Corpus Christi police to know she appreciates their kind gesture for her son.
“I want the people to know that there are good cops," she said. "They do sweet things like think about a little boy that they’ve never met.”
