CBS 58 Exclusive: Mom speaks out after 10-year-old girl killed in sleep

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Gun violence has devastated too many families and it's caused outrage among many community members in the Milwaukee area.

One week ago, a 10-year-old girl was shot and killed while asleep in her mother's bed on Milwaukee's south side. Officials said a family member accidentally did it.

In an exclusive interview, CBS 58 spoke to the mother who tells us she is absolutely devastated.

"Our children are the ones who are supposed to bury us, not us our kids," Dennise Merced said in Spanish.

Merced described last Thursday as a normal day -- except, it was anything but normal.

She was sleeping in bed with two of her children, her 1-year-old baby boy and her 10-year-old girl, Isdennyeliz Ortiz.

"I felt like she said, 'ow,' but one is asleep, and I felt like she was rocking back and forth, and I say, 'hey, baby, are you OK? What's happening?'" she explained. "I touch her, I'm like, 'what's happening?' I move her and I see, like, a hole and I automatically look up."

The criminal complaint states that Merced's nephew, Javier Rodriguez, 18, who lives upstairs, "had been playing with a gun when it accidentally discharged and shot" the girl.

"It hurts me to breathe, it hurts me to talk, it hurts to walk - everything hurts, because I am incomplete," Merced said, with tears streaming down her face.

Police found a bag with six loaded guns.

Merced said her nephew immediately ran downstairs to apologize when he realized the gravity of the situation and attempted CPR.

In a home surveillance video, you can see Rodriguez with a shocked look on his face, pacing back and forth until he ultimately runs away.

Merced said Rodriguez turned himself in to police the next day. The 18-year-old now faces up to 30 years in prison and up to a $100,000 fine.

"I've never known the feeling of hatred - never ever, never, never, never," Merced went on to say in Spanish.

She and her other 14-year-old daughter, Brandy, have been dealing with PTSD.

"It all comes at night, the memories, when I lie down in bed. It's really bad," she said.

Funeral arrangements for Isdennyeliz Ortiz are set for Friday.  After that, the family plans to move out.

"I understand that it wasn't intentional because I am very mindful of that, but because I am also aware that this could have been avoided, that's why I am upset. Because there's no fixing this," she told CBS 58 News.

Merced has a message she hopes her nephew receives.

"I am praying to God for peace, I am praying to God to let me forgive you, because I do not forgive you," Merced added.

The family has created a GoFundMe account for those who wish to donate, to help with unforeseen costs.