Boy's final moments before being killed in road rage attack
The heart-wrenching final moments of a boy's life before he was fatally shot while in the back seat of his mum's car have been revealed.
Six-year-old Aiden Leos, from Southern California, was shot to death by another driver in a road-rage attack on Friday morning (local time) while being driven to school.
His mum Joanna Cloonan told KNSD-TV a white Volkswagen station wagon cut her off on State Route 55 in the city of Orange.
“As I was merging away from the carpool lane, I heard a loud noise and I heard my son say ‘ow’ and I pulled the car over as soon as possible, and he had been shot,” she said.
Ms Cloonan said the bullet went through the boot of the car and struck her son, who was strapped into his booster seat in the rear passenger side.
“I tried to save him by calling 911, but he was losing a lot of blood... he just didn’t deserve that. No one deserves that.”
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Reyes Valdivia, who along with his wife pulled over to help, said Ms Cloonan told them she "flipped off" the car.
When Ms Cloonan started transitioning to the right, the suspect vehicle slipped behind her before one of the occupants fired the shot, she told the couple.
Investigators believe a man and a woman were inside the Volkswagen at the time of the shooting.
Ms Cloonan has since described her son as a "beautiful" child who was senselessly killed.
"He was beautiful and he was kind and he was precious, and you killed him for no reason. And I want to find them and I want there to be justice to be served for my son," she told Good Morning America.
"He meant the world to me, and it feels like my life is over. That was my baby. I’ve never, never thought pain like this could exist."
Two GoFundMe accounts have since been established - one in support of Aiden's mum and another for his dad.
The California Highway Patrol asked for assistance from any drivers who were on that section of freeway between 7.55am and 8.15am especially if their vehicles have dashboard cameras.
Aiden's family announced a US$50,000 (A$65,000) reward on Sunday (local time) for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.
- with Associated Press
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