A Michigan teenager, incensed over a shooting incident at his mother’s residence, allegedly retaliated by firing at a house he believed belonged to the perpetrator. The 19-year-old, Arion James Wagner, was reportedly informed that the shooter’s house had red curtains. Acting on this information, he located a house with red curtains and opened fire. However, it turned out to be the wrong house, resulting in the tragic death of a 78-year-old woman who was asleep at the time, according to authorities.
The victim, Nora Luna, was found by Jackson police officers who responded to a shooting call around 11 p.m. on January 29 on Quarry Street. Luna was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to her injuries the following day. Wagner was arrested approximately an hour after the shooting.
Wagner is now facing multiple charges, including open murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle causing death, and other firearms-related offenses. He has also been charged with domestic violence and assault with intent to do great bodily harm by strangulation, following allegations that he choked his pregnant girlfriend.
During Wagner’s preliminary hearing, his girlfriend testified that he had directed her to drive to a house to pick up prescription drugs and then to his mother’s house. Upon discovering that his mother’s house had been shot at, Wagner became enraged. Phone conversations Wagner allegedly had in jail suggested that someone informed him that the shooter’s house had red curtains.
The girlfriend further testified that Wagner instructed her to drive to the house with the red curtains, where he opened fire, resulting in Luna’s death. Prosecutors stated that neither Luna nor anyone in the house had any connection to Wagner or the shooting at his mother’s house.
Earlier that day, Wagner allegedly assaulted his girlfriend. She claimed that he forced her to undress and lie on a bed while he held a gun to her head. He also allegedly threatened her life by placing a gun in her mouth. She later suffered a miscarriage.
Wagner’s attorney, Kareem Johnson, pointed out during the hearing that there were no visible bruises on the girlfriend’s body in photos taken that day. The hearing is set to continue next week to determine if there is sufficient probable cause for the case to proceed from district court to circuit court.
Luna, originally from Mexico, had moved to Michigan at a young age. She was still caring for her special needs daughter at the time of her death, according to a GoFundMe page set up for the family. The page described the incident as a “very sad and trying time for the entire family.”