FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A South Florida woman told Local 10 News on Monday that her boyfriend fatally shot her mother’s significant other over the weekend in self-defense.
According to Maria Ramirez, 23, she was hanging out at her mother’s home along the 3100 block of Southwest 13th Street Sunday morning in Fort Lauderdale before calling her boyfriend, Darwin Ramirez, 29, to come pick her up.
She said her mother’s boyfriend, Raul Santos Francisco, 32, was drunk and confronted Darwin Ramirez about beating Maria Ramirez’s daughter from a previous relationship.
“My stepdad, he loves my sister’s daughter. She’s 7 years old,” Ivan Ramirez, 12, said. “Darwin hits her mostly every day. That’s when my stepdad gets mad. He starts fighting with him.”
Maria Ramirez told Local 10 News reporter Madeleine Wright that her boyfriend has never hit her daughter, and only uses words to discipline her when she is misbehaving.
She said Santos Francisco was the aggressor during the incident and began fighting with Darwin Ramirez, even though her boyfriend kept telling him he didn’t want to fight.
She said Darwin Ramirez eventually pulled out a gun and fired a shot or two to scare Santos Francisco before actually hitting him.
She said Santos Francisco fell to the ground and Darwin Ramirez got into his car and fled the scene because he was scared.
Maria Ramirez said she wants her boyfriend to come home and speak with police to clear his name.
Maria Ramirez and Darwin Ramirez share an 8-month-old baby boy in common.
It’s unclear whether Darwin Ramirez will face charges in the shooting. Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman Casey Liening confirmed Monday that the Broward County state attorney’s office has requested more time to review the circumstances leading up to the incident to determine whether charges should be filed.