By Ryan Crowe
LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) - A Lubbock mother has lost her third child this year, and now friends are trying to help her raise money to pay for a third funeral.
Sandra Cortez lost her 12-year-old son, Damien, in an accidental shooting while in the drive-thru of a Lubbock McDonalds in February.
The boy’s teenage brother was playing with a gun when it went off, hitting Damien, who later died at UMC.
MORE: 12-year-old killed in shooting at McDonald’s drive-thru was a spelling bee champion
A little over a month later, Cortez' 20-year-old son Steven was killed in an officer-involved shooting in Childress after he pointed a gun at officers following a chase.
MORE: Lubbock man killed by Childress police was brother of child killed at McDonald’s drive-thru
Now, according to a GoFundMe account set up by family friends, Sandra Cortez has lost her youngest child, 19-month-old Briana.
The fundraiser was started Monday morning. In a message to Newschannel 11 Cortez said the little girl died following treatment for a cold and strep throat. “She was such a blessing and a very happy baby. I am deeply saddened and to be honest there aren’t any words to describe the sorrow that I feel,” Cortez said in the message.
Briana was one of two children removed from the Cortez home following the February incident.
MORE: 2 siblings now in CPS custody after death of 12-year-old Damien Cortez
The GoFundMe says “My good friend recently passed earlier this year, along with his younger brother. And now God decided he needed another angel so his little sister went along side.”
It also says Cortez is still struggling after paying for the funerals of Steven and Damien, and asks for donations. It says “No mother should have to lay her child to rest, yet alone 3 in one year."
To view the GoFundMe account for the Cortez family, >>CLICK HERE<<
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