Sgt. Erik Maldonado/Dep. Adam Schoonover
Pima County Sheriff
Sergeant Erik Maldonado and Deputy Adam Schoonover responded to a welfare call involving a 5 and 7-year-old girl. Their father had made a drunken phone call to his ex-wife asking if she wanted to talk to her daughters “one last time”. When Sergeant Maldonado and Deputy Schoonover arrived they heard shots fired inside the home. The father had shot both of his children in the head and then took his own life.
The worked furiously to provide first aid to the girls, but it was too late. Even after they had left the scene, they made themselves available to the family at all times. They spent a significant amount of time with the grieving family, providing emotional first aid. Their heroism continued and is evident in their efforts to care for the surviving family.
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