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FARGO — A Moorhead woman who was shot last month over the lunch hour at a Fargo restaurant has died from her injuries, her family said.
However, a fundraiser at a Perham, Minnesota, church where her parents are parishioners will go on as planned, to help cover medical expenses that have mounted in the two weeks since the shooting.
Father Tom Skaja of St. Henry’s Catholic Church said the church will host a fundraiser to help pay the family’s medical costs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, June 12, which will include authentic Mexican food, a bake sale and possibly, a silent auction.
“It’s just like a small little gesture, because what they're going through is just horrible,” he said.
An update posted Wednesday, June 1, to a GoFundMe page for Lucia Garcia announced her death “with broken hearts and an emptiness too vast to compare to anything.”
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The post went on to say she "hurts no more, and fears no more."
Garcia, 21, and her 7-month-old boy Dominique were shot by Malik Gill, 24, her fiancé and the boy’s father, at Plaza Azteca restaurant on May 18 in south Fargo.
Gill was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a stolen vehicle in Clay County less than two hours later , police said.
According to the GoFundMe page, the couple’s relationship had always been troubled.
“But time after time, Lucia insisted on making their relationship work for the sake of baby Dominique,” an earlier post stated.
Garcia underwent surgery and a blood transfusion at Sanford Medical Center for her injuries, which included a gunshot wound to the chest and swelling in her brain.
A week later, the family announced Garcia had suffered significant brain damage as a consequence of being without oxygen for about 15 minutes after the shooting.
Dominique was shot in the left thigh and left side of his abdomen.
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Garcia’s sister, Jessica Lopez Garcia, said the boy is out of the hospital and home with her, where he’s doing well.
“He will remain with our family,” she said, referring to who will raise the boy with both of his parents gone.
Skaja, who’s been at the Perham church for just over a year, said he never met Lucia Garcia but has met one of her siblings and her parents, Raul Garcia and Maite Garcia.
“They're an important part of the community and a part of the parish,” Skaja said.
Funeral arrangements for Lucia Garcia had not been announced as of Thursday afternoon, June 2.
