YARIMAR MERCADO MARTINEZ

Mercado Martinez's mother, Mabel Martinez, 56, was killed by a stray bullet in her Connecticut home over the weekend, authorities announced Monday, April 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File) (Hassan Ammar)The mother of a Puerto Rican Olympian killed by a stray bullet in her Connecticut home was an unintended victim of a drug dispute that erupted into the firing of more than 20 gunshots, a police official said Tuesday. Martinez was the mother of Yarimar Mercado Martinez, a rifle shooter on the Puerto Rico Olympic team who competed in the summer Olympics last year and in 2016. Spagnolo said people in two cars, including convicted felons known for drug dealing, got into a shootout outside Mabel Martinez's home. Yarimar Mercado Martinez, 27, traveled to Waterbury late Sunday from Brazil, where she was to compete in an international shooting competition.

Police say the mother of a Puerto Rican Olympian killed by a stray bullet in her Connecticut home was an unintended victim of a drug dispute that erupted into the firing of more than 20 gunshots.

Mercado Martinez's mother, Mabel Martinez, 56, was killed by a stray bullet in her Connecticut home over the weekend, authorities announced Monday, April 11, 2022. Police believe Mabel Martinez, 56, was an innocent bystander and the intended target was apparently a man walking outside her home in the town of Waterbury. Mabel Martinez was the mother of Yarimar Mercado Martinez, a rifle shooter on the Puerto Rico Olympic team who competed in the summer Olympics last year and in 2016. She wrote that the family intends to bring her mother’s body to Puerto Rico “so her friends and family can say goodbye.”“I apologize to Puerto Rico because even if I wanted to, I really can’t compete, my place is with my family," she wrote. ___AP journalist Dánica Coto contributed to this report from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The mother of a Puerto Rican Olympian has been killed by a stray bullet while sewing in her Connecticut home.