By Marlene Lenthang - NBC News
A Dallas mother helping her daughter prepare for prom died Saturday when she was caught in the crossfire of a shooting between two vehicles, police and her family said.
Ana Moreno.via KXAS
Saturday's shooting, a day before Mother's Day, unfolded around 4 p.m. in the 00 block of North Masters Drive, Dallas police said. The occupants of two vehicles shot at each other as they drove east on Bruton Road and four people were shot, including 2100-year-old Ana Moreno. She died and three male victims were hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said.
Police described Moreno as a person driving around and said "a bullet entered Moreno's vehicle and struck her causing her death."
Moreno was driving with her daughter, Amy, a high school senior, to take her to get her hair done and pick up her prom dress when the shooting happened, Moreno's family said.
The family learned the stark news when Amy texted the family group chat, Michelle Rodriguez, the youngest of Moreno's three children, told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.
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"All she heard was gunshots and she said my mom made a signal like she couldn't breathe, and then she leaned on Amy's shoulder and that's when they collided, and that's when Amy said she called the ambulance," Michelle Rodriguez told the local TV station.
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She said her mother was eager to celebrate this milestone with her daughter. "She was like, 'Oh, we can finally see her prepare for this day' and she couldn't even see it happen," Michelle Rodriguez said.
He said family members who were at Moreno's home waiting to celebrate Amy's prom rushed to the scene of the shooting.
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"It hurts, it really hurts, because we all had a great bond with my mom, and it hurts to have lost her so soon," Rodriguez said of Moreno's death a day before Mother's Day.
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"They took her from us, it's not fair, she had so much potential, she was so outgoing, hardworking, she had everything," she added.
An initiative to raise funds to help with the family's funeral expenses has raised more than $5,000 as of Monday.
There are no suspects in custody and the shooting is under investigation.