🔗 Share this article

Law enforcement officials in the state are considering possible criminal charges against a resident who allegedly shot and killed a woman when she accidentally arrived to the incorrect location thinking she was scheduled to clean a property.

Officers found Maria Florinda Rios Perez De Velasquez, 32 years old, deceased just before 7am on the front porch of a residence in a suburban town, an area of approximately 10,000 residents near Indianapolis.

She belonged to a cleaning crew that had gone to the wrong address, according to police in an official release.

Authorities have not publicly identified the shooter, but police submitted their findings from the probe to Kent Eastwood, the local district attorney, on Friday.

This case will highlight Indiana’s “castle doctrine” laws, which allow a person to use lethal force to stop what they genuinely think is an illegal entry into their dwelling.

But the killing has stunned the community. Rios Perez’s husband, Mauricio Velazquez, stated to local media that he was present with her at the front door but didn’t realize she had been hit until she collapsed into his arms, injured. On a fundraising page, her brother mentioned that Rios Perez was a mother of four.

Thirty-one states have similar laws to Indiana on the books, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In similar cases in other states, authorities have filed criminal charges against people who used a firearm outside their residences, including a admission of guilt by an 86-year-old man who shot a Black teenager when the teen approached his home by mistake. In New York, a person was found guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting a woman inside a car who drove down his driveway in error.

This tragic event highlights continuing discussions about stand-your-ground statutes and their application in real-life scenarios.