MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A woman accused of shooting her children’s foster mother refused to appear before a judge Saturday.
Candi Johnson, 34, lost custody of her two children after she was charged with child neglect in April.
Johnson can be seen smiling in her mug shot, but she faces serious charges, including attempted murder, conspiracy to kidnap and armed burglary.
Police said she and a man ambushed a 77-year-old woman at a home on Jackson Street in southwest Miami-Dade County around 5 a.m. Friday.
Police said Johnson and her accomplice demanded Johnson’s two children, a 5-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy, be return to them, but the foster mother refused to give them up.
A struggle ensued and police said the foster mother was shot multiple times.
The shooting shocked neighbors.
"I understand it's yours, but once you give 'em to the state, the state give 'em to whoever, that belongs to the foster parent," Brina Smith said.
After the shooting, police said Johnson took the kids back to her home on Northwest 87th street, where she was arrested.
The wounded foster mother was taken to Jackson South, where she was listed in stable condition.
The children were found unharmed and are now in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
“The horrific attack on this foster mother is unfathomable. We have been in contact with the victim's family and will continue to provide support as she recovers,” the agency said in a statement.
Johnson is currently being held on without bond in Miami-Dade County’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Police are still searching for Johnson's accomplice.