Authorities: Woman who mistakenly shot boy said she had “4 or 5 sips of moonshine”

The woman who accidentally shot her 12-year-old cousin in the back because she mistook him for an intruder told detectives she had “four or five sips of moonshine,” said officials with the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Office.

Tanya Croll, 36, was arrested and charged with one count of child abuse resulting in great bodily harm and one count of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to the 9200 block of El Centro just before midnight on Oct. 7, 2017. Croll called 911 to report the shooting, officials said.

Croll allegedly told detectives she heard a noise coming from the kitchen and thought her cousin “was an intruder.” Croll allegedly said she is afraid of the dark and had been hearing voices in her room.

Croll, armed with a 9 millimeter handgun, allegedly fired at least once toward her cousin as the boy was was reaching inside the refrigerator for something to eat and a soda, officials said.

The woman said the home was dark when she shot her cousin. “He moved. I shot,” Croll allegedly said, before adding her cousin “looked like the damn boogeyman.”

Paramedics airlifted the boy to an El Paso-area hospital, where he is listed in stable condition.

Croll allegedly told detectives she had been drinking before the shooting. She is being held without bond at the Doña Ana County Detention Center, pending arraignment.