A woman accused of shooting a 14-year-old girl Sunday allegedly shot the teen in the shoulder before chasing her through the backyard of a Denver apartment building, attempting to shoot her again, according to a statement of probable cause.
Cherry N. Robertson, 33, is being held at the Denver jail on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder in lieu of $100,000 bond, according to court records.
The teenage victim was allegedly picking on Robertson’s 14-year-old daughter before she was shot, according to court records.
Seeing the commotion, Robertson allegedly rushed from her home with a handgun and shot the girl.
“While taking the defendant into custody, she told officers unprovoked that she shot the girl and the gun was in her house,” the statement says.
Police said witnesses to the shooting also identified Robertson as the shooter.
Niela Coleman, 14, was the teen shot by Robertson, according to Coleman’s godmother, Tia Collins, who lives in an apartment next to the backyard where the shooting happened.
“They said she was bullying, but that’s not true,” Collins said. “She (Robertson) just came out and shot her.”
Collins said there were at least a dozen young children — some under 5 years old — playing nearby when Roberston shot her.
“We were trying to get the kids in so she didn’t shoot them, too,” Collins said, adding that some of the neighborhood children had nightmares after the shooting.
The shooting happened about 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The teenage girl was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Robertson appeared in court Monday at the Denver jail for a first advisement in the case. Looking despondent and clad in jail dress, she answered a judge’s questions in a low voice and stared at the floor as she was escorted back into a holding facility.
Collins said the teen ran screaming to her apartment after she was shot before Collins added pressure to the wound and attempted to tie a makeshift tourniquet around the girl’s shoulder.
Coleman, wearing an arm sling and bandages around her shoulder, on Monday morning told a 7News reporter that she was not bullying Robertson’s daughter before she was shot.
