WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The woman who was shot at several times this weekend by a neighbor and his teenage son said she wants to see the pair held accountable.
What You Need To Know
- Caudill said she feared for her life when the pair demanded she get out of her car
- The whole shooting was allegedly over a misunderstanding
- Caudill has two children
“I think they overreacted to the max,” said Gladybel Caudill. “I was afraid for my life. I almost died.”
Caudill, 33, said she had just returned from her overnight shift at Walmart Saturday morning. She parked her car in her designated spot in front of her building at the Arbours at Garden Grove apartments. She said she was checking her phone when she heard a menacing voice.
“I heard a man saying, ‘Get out of your vehicle now,’” Caudill said. “He was holding a gun on his side, so I immediately was scared.”
The sheriff’s office said that the man was Gino Colonacosta, 73.
Caudill said she put her foot on the brake to put her car in reverse, and that’s when Colonacosta pointed the gun at her.
“I went into reverse fast — really fast. So fast that I hit cars behind me,” Caudill said. “They were shooting. I saw him shooting. There was someone else that I didn’t even see before, which was his son, that was also shooting and chasing my car. I had to flee as fast as I could.”
According to the sheriff’s office, Colonacosta and his 15-year-old son said they were looking for a person they believed was trying to break into their apartment. They’d received alerts from their Ring doorbell that showed a man at their door. Sheriff Grady Judd said Monday that man was actually another neighbor who was dropping off medication that was mistakenly delivered to his unit.
An arrest report states the two grabbed semi-automatic handguns, left their apartment, and began searching for that person. That’s when law enforcement says they found Caudill in her car. Judd said the two shot at her seven times. One bullet went through her trunk and her son’s car seat and lodged in the driver’s seat.
“Lucky to be alive,” Caudill said of how she felt after learning about that bullet’s path. “I’m lucky that my kids weren’t in the car because it could’ve been fatal.”
While she was physically unharmed, Caudill said she’s left with a feeling of fear — especially when walking to her car at night.
“I just keep going. That’s all I’ve been doing is just — I just gotta keep marching. My kids need me, so I have to,” said Caudill, mother to a 15-year-old, six-year-old and one-year-old.
Caudill said she’s shocked no one was hurt during the shooting.
Colonacosta and his son face multiple charges, including attempted murder, possession of firearms by a minor under 18 and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.