A man accused of shooting his mother-in-law in Miami Gardens appeared in court Wednesday, where the victim’s daughter told a judge he’d been stalking her and hated her mother.
A man accused of shooting his mother-in-law in Miami Gardens appeared in court Wednesday, where the victim's daughter told a judge he'd been stalking her and hated her mother.
Bilal Ismail, 49, was charged with attempted second-degree murder with a firearm in Monday's shooting, but in court Wednesday, Judge Mindy Glazer said she thought the charge should be higher.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE"It should be attempted first-degree murder, he shoots somebody in the head, he tried to kill her," Glazer said. "He's trying to kill her, that is why he allegedly shot her, it doesn't look like it's the heat of the moment, it looks like he had intent, he had a homemade gun that he used and then he tossed the gun."
The prosecutor said Ismail could still be charged with a first-degree crime, but Ismail's attorney pushed back, saying the police officer at the scene determined it was done without premeditation and that previous claims of threats weren't reported to authorities.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP
Ismail is accused of shooting his mother-in-law at a home in the 400 block of 203rd Terrace Monday morning.
Officers and fire rescue responded and rushed the mother-in-law to a local hospital.
Local
The woman remained in critical condition, police said Tuesday. Her identity hasn't been released.
"It's very violent, he shot the victim in the head, the bullet traveled down down her throat and into her abdomen," Glazer said in court Wednesday.
Ismail fled the scene after the shooting but was taken into custody the next day, police said.
The victim's daughter attended Wednesday's hearing and spoke through an interpreter. She said she and Ismail had been in a relationship for nine years and had two kids together.
She said Ismail has been stalking her for months and has put four GPS trackers on her car.
"He shows up at every place I go," she said in Spanish.
The woman said Ismail hates her mom and had threatened to kill her.
"He hated my mom and he told me over the phone and I have all the text messages that he wanted to kill my mom, he told me that," she said. "He is not innocent, he did this with premeditation, he knew where my mom was gonna be alone."
The woman said she's in fear for her life, and Glazer told her she can file for a domestic violence restraining order if she's afraid of him.
Glazer denied Ismail bond and ordered him to stay away from the mother-in-law and not possess firearms or weapons.
