New Mexico woman shot dead by teen after confronting thieves who stole her car

The family of a 23-year-old Albuquerque woman shot dead by a 13-year-old when she confronted the thieves who stole her car on Monday is calling for the “maximum sentence” for the teen. 

Sydney Wilson faced off with a 13-year-old suspect after she tracked her stolen car to a Smith’s grocery store and gas station in Southwest Albuquerque using a GPS app, her family said.

The teen shot her in response, according to KOAT Action News, and she was pronounced dead at the scene by Albuquerque police. 

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The minor turned himself in to authorities two days later, per the outlet, and is being held at Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center. He was charged with murder, tampering with evidence and unlawful possession of a handgun.

Before the deadly shooting, per a complaint from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, the teen and other juveniles stole alcohol from Walgreens and rode recklessly in the stolen car.

Police said Wilson exited the vehicle she was in – her mother’s – and approached her stolen white Hyundai. The driver struck a black Mustang and then a curb while trying to flee, causing the car’s airbags to deploy. 

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Several people, including the minor suspect, allegedly exited the car. When Wilson approached her stolen vehicle, the teen allegedly pulled a gun from his waistband and fired two to three shots. One struck Wilson in the chest, police said. 

The day before the altercation, Wilson posted to Facebook: 

“Soooo my car was stolen,” she wrote. “Y’all some pieces of absolute s—.”

Crystal Miller, Sydney’s older sister, told KRQE News that she arrived at the scene “about three minutes after they finished trying to resuscitate [her] sister.”

“I still have flashes of seeing my baby sister on the ground the way she was,” she told the outlet.

Crystal told KOAT that she was just seven minutes away when the shooting happened, and that her sister had called her to tell her she found her stolen car just before she died. 

“I literally told her, you know, don’t do anything. I’ll be right there,” she recalled. “Right now, I’m more upset with myself that I didn’t get out soon to be there to stop it. I feel if I was there, it wouldn’t have happened the way it did.”

Although Crystal told her sister not to confront the thief, she told KOAT that she was “strong-willed” and “babysat so much, she felt like she could deal with these kids.”

Regardless of her killer’s age, Wilson’s family is calling for the harshest penalties possible. 

“A kid that young had a gun. It makes me wonder about their upbringing. Why was a kid that young out there in the first place,” Deidra Wilson, Sydney Wilson’s mother, asked. “To have a gun and shoot it at her, somebody, disregard for a human life, at that age, there’s nothing you can think of that’s worse in this world.”

Miller told KOAT that she would like to see the teen’s parents face criminal charges, as well. 

“I want the maximum sentence for him, and the family involved. He is 13 years old. There’s no reason he should have been on the streets without an adult,” she said. “There is no reason that he should have had a gun, period. If these parents and teenagers cannot go through a safety gun class, I do not believe a gun should be in the house.”

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Wilson echoed the sentiment in an interview with KRQE: 

“Where was the adult with them? You know, I can’t see kids that young stealing a car and driving it around, so I’m very angry,” Wilson said. 

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said that minors committing crimes is a problem throughout the state of New Mexico.

“Our state needs to unite. We need to make sure that we do everything we can to improve the likelihood of our children having a healthy home environment,” Medina told KRQE.