A GRANDMOTHER cuddling her great-grandchildren on Christmas day was shot dead by a stray bullet fired by a neighbour testing a new gun in his backyard, cops say.
Sandra Phelps – known lovingly as “Sandy” or “Nanny” – was sitting on her front porch in Comanche, Oklahoma, holding a child when a bullet tore through her arm and into her chest.
Witnesses said she had just remarked that someone nearby must have got “a new gun for Christmas”, before saying “ouch” and collapsing.
She was pronounced dead around 20 minutes after deputies were called to the scene.
Her devastated granddaughter Charyl Barraza said: “We had her great-grandbabies here. So, she was cuddling and loving on them; just being the best Nanny she could be. It was a great day until it wasn’t.”
Cops traced the fatal shot to neighbour Cody Wayne Adams, 33, who lived roughly half a mile away and admitted firing his newly bought Glock .45-calibre handgun in his backyard.
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Court documents say Adams had been target practicing on a Red Bull can, firing multiple rounds.
Neighbours reported hearing five to seven shots over several minutes.
Investigators recovered multiple spent shell casings scattered across Adams’ yard and deck, along with a Red Bull can he had been aiming at.
Officials noted that from the spot where Adams fired, the line of fire aligned directly with the lights of the emergency vehicles at Phelps’ home, confirming the deadly trajectory, the affidavit said.
Neighbours reported hearing Adams fire around 20 rounds that afternoon, the affidavit added.
When deputies told Adams they suspected his gunfire had killed Phelps, he “became visibly upset and began to cry,” according to the affidavit.
Cops allege he was “shooting towards the ground in his backyard that there was nothing behind his property to stop any bullets from traveling beyond his property and hurting someone.”
Phelps’ family said she was the heart of the neighbourhood.
“This neighbourhood used to be filled with kids and every one of them called her ‘Nanny,’” her granddaughter told News 9.
Another granddaughter, Amanda Winslett, said: “We just want her to be remembered for who she was. She was a wonderful, loving person and she will always be with us.”
Phelps was a cancer survivor who took part in Relay for Life and was known for her fearless love of life.
Her grandchildren said: “Whatever we wanted to do, she would go with us and do it. Get a tattoo? Nanny would get one with you.”
Her family say they find comfort knowing she is reunited with her late husband of more than 50 years.
They said: “Yes. We know 100 per cent she is with Papa.”
Adams has been charged with first-degree manslaughter, accused of acting with a “conscious disregard for the safety of others.”
He was arrested on December 26, later released on a $100,000 bond, and ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family.
If convicted, he could face up to life in prison and is due to appear in court on February 25.