Shooting victim’s family seeks aid

The mother of the 15-year-old girl shot last month outside a home in Costa Mesa’s Shalimar neighborhood said the attack has turned her family’s situation from bad to worse — so much, in fact, that they are now asking the public for help.

Denise, the victim’s mother, who asked that her family’s last name not be revealed for safety reasons, said the family needs money for the most basic of necessities including food, gas and her daughter’s pain medication, which isn’t covered by insurance.

Just after 6 p.m. July 28, a shotgun-wielding assailant confronted a group of teenagers in the 700 block of Shalimar Drive and fired once, seriously wounding Denise’s daughter, Angelique, on her right side.

Angelique and neighbors said she is not affiliated with gangs and was an innocent victim.

Denise said the attack has become another obstacle in her efforts as a single mother to provide for her three daughters and one son since she lost her job in March. She and her husband were convicted on felony drug charges in April. Denise’s husband was sentenced to two years in prison; she was released in July and said she got caught up in his legal problems.

“For me, as a mom, it’s just an embarrassing thing that I hope to be able to put behind me as soon as possible,” Denise said. “In the process, our family has become closer and stronger than we have ever been.”

Six weeks later, countless applications for positions similar to her old job as a senior assistant to an accounting executive and for openings at chain-office supply stores have gone unanswered.

“I literally have no gas. I don’t even have quarters for the laundry,” Denise said. “Some people have never gone through anything like this. It’s not as easy as people think. When you have parents with money, or you have some money or people to back you up, it’s easier.”

Denise and her kids are staying with family but will soon have to find somewhere else to live, she said.

The task seems almost impossible because she has to apply for jobs, get assistance from the Costa Mesa-based charity Share Our Selves and redress Angelique’s wounds twice a day, she said.

A friend who works with a butcher was able to give her some meat, which turned into a full meal when she used vegetables and rice handed out at Share Our Selves.

Angelique continues to suffer from a number of ailments related to the surgery. She walks slowly and stiffly and sleeps a lot of the day.

Surgeons removed more than 100 pellets from her body, including four from her colon, but left two pellets in her heart, she said. She also had a collapsed lung, Denise said.

The pain medication doctors prescribed Angelique doesn’t work, she said. Doctors decided to let an open wound on Angelique’s back heal naturally after staples they originally used to shut it caused an infection, Denise said.

The nurse provided by insurance is covered for only one more visit. From there, Denise will have no one to help her because her other daughters and relatives work full time.

“If I was able to get out there and pound the pavement from 8 to 5, I’d probably have a job,” she said. Denise is sure even one pay stub would likely qualify the family for government assistance. She holds out hope for a promising job opportunity weeks down the road.

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but what do I do until I get there?” she said. “Anything whatsoever people can do would help.”

Anyone who would like to help out Denise and Angelique can address donations to the CSP Victims Assistance Program, care of the Shalimar Shooting Victim’s Fund, 1821 E. Dyer Road, Suite 200, Santa Ana, CA 92705.

Four suspected gang members have been charged in Angelique’s shooting. They are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 29.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.