Thanksgiving home invasion and shooting

A Thanksgiving morning incident in the town of San Joaquin not only leaves a 91-year-old woman in intensive care, but also has Fresno County Sheriffs searching for answers.

Marcella Miller, 91, was the victim of a home invasion robbery on Thanksgiving morning. Miller was inside her San Joaquin home along with her 63-year-old daughter Marilyn.

Shooting Victim Marcella Miller

County sheriffs reported that Marcella Miller received an uninvited guest inside her home when an unidentified intruder gained access to her house by breaking a window. Sergeant Leo Lopez of the Fresno Sheriff Department then described the details that would later ensue from the encounter.

“This home invader was there to commit a robbery,” Lopez said. “He made contact with the two women who posed him no threat, and in a cowardly act, he shot the defenseless 91-year-old Marcella in the face.”

The suspect then fled after shooting Marcella Miller. The bullet not only hit her face, but entered her spine and is permanently lodged. As of Sunday, Miller is currently in intensive care at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno and is also currently on a ventilator.

There is no detail of the suspect at-large as of now. County sheriffs are also trying to piece together why the two elderly women were targeted, and have also stated that this was an isolated incident.

Lopez described Marcella as not only a long-time resident of San Joaquin, but a woman who even survived a life-threatening disease.

“She is a breast cancer survivor and has been a resident of San Joaquin for the past 89 years,” Lopez said.

Her daughter was unharmed during the attack. The Sheriff Department is still seeking help on solving this holiday case. Anyone with information is being asked to call the sheriff’s office at (559) 488-3111 or Detective Brian Pursell at (559) 488-3922.

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