MANCHESTER, NH — During a violent surprise raid on a family-occupied apartment, federal agents opened fire on an innocent grandmother as she reached out to protect an infant.
On August 27th, 2014, a Manchester was at home watching over her 10-year-old daughter and two of her grandchildren (ages 4 and 1.5). At approximately 7:00 p.m. that evening, the U.S Drug Enforcement Agency raided her third-story apartment to look for drug contraband. The raid produced no drugs, no arrests, and resulted in 49-year-old Lilian Alonzo [reported as Lillian Nunez] being shot by an officer. No other adults were present during the raid.
New Hampshire Attorney General Joe Foster vaguely stated that during the raid, “one of the officer’s weapons discharged,” offering no further details.
An unnamed agent fired two bullets in Alonzo’s apartment. One struck Ms. Alonzo in the arm and torso. The other went into a wall. Alonzo survived, but doctors were unable to remove the bullet from her body.
The woman’s son, Daniel Nunez, recently came forward with further details about the shooting after visiting his recovering mother.
Mr. Nunez told the New Hampshire Union Leader that the shooting took place after his 10-year-old sister opened the door and police barged into the apartment.
“She (Alonzo) went to pick up the baby. They thought she was reaching for something, and they shot her,” Mr. Nunez told the newspaper.
Ms. Alonzo had no previous arrest record and was not arrested or charged following the violent raid on her apartment. The search warrant was served as part of a series of 13 raids to investigate several people allegedly selling prescription painkillers without government authorization.
Among those arrested in the DEA raids were Alonzo’s daughters, Johanna Nunez and Jennifer Nunez. Neither lived with their mother at the apartment at 110 Beech Street. Both are now facing federal drug charges.
Lilian Alonzo was never mentioned in the police affidavit. She said that she was unaware of what her daughters were up to. According to her son, “Mom had nothing to do with this.”
Authorities have spoken very little about the botched raid in the weeks that have followed, and are conducting an investigation about whether the shooting was justified.
Critics are slamming the tactics of police in conducting an invasive, surprise raid on an apartment known to be frequently occupied by children. Investigators had spent nearly a year’s worth of tax-funded resources investigating the alleged crimes, and arguably should have known who would be inside the apartment when they barged in with guns drawn.