An Arizona woman has been incarcerated following an incident where she allegedly shot a 4-year-old boy in the face, authorities in the state reported.

Joanna Chalup Cortez, aged 29, faces charges including two counts of aggravated assault, alongside charges for firing a weapon at a dwelling and engaging in disorderly conduct with a firearm, as documented by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

The events unfolded on January 6 at an apartment complex situated near the intersection of 29th Street and Weir Avenue in Phoenix.

At approximately noon, a single gunshot was fired, striking young Qahsiem Sinclair in the cheek, according to his family, who shared the incident with Phoenix’s ABC affiliate KNXV. Remarkably, the bullet’s path allowed the boy to survive, passing through his cheek and impacting some teeth.

“By mere inches, my son might not have survived,” his father, Meishaq Sinclair, expressed to the local news outlet. “It was terrifying, I feared it was my son’s last breath.”

What led up to the shooting allegedly began hours earlier that day, according to court documents obtained by independent Phoenix-based TV station KTVK and local CBS affiliate KPHO, which collectively broadcast as “Arizona’s Family.”

The boy’s mother was hanging out with Chalup Cortez and another woman who previously dated the defendant’s boyfriend, according to law enforcement. At some point, the defendant and the third woman began arguing, police said. Eventually, Chalup Cortez allegedly called her boyfriend to inform him she was kicking him out of her house.

At around 11 a.m., the women went to pick up the ex-boyfriend, police said. Then, all four drove to the Somo Lofts on Weir Avenue, where the women dropped the man off and subsequently drove off.

There, the man’s brother lives with his girlfriend and son, Qahsiem.

At some point within the next hour, the two men began livestreaming on social media, police said. This content, however, was much to the chagrin of Chalup Cortez, court documents allege.

Next, the woman, apparently incensed, drove back to the apartment complex and began honking and demanding someone come outside, according to law enforcement. While being ignored, the defendant allegedly texted and called Qahsiem’s mother, telling her that she was going to “shoot up the house,” according to the court documents.

Eventually, the defendant parked outside, got out of her vehicle, shouted another demand along those lines, pulled out a rifle and fired, according to surveillance footage obtained by Arizona’s Family.

By the time police arrived, Chalup Cortez had left the scene of the crime, police said. The child was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was treated for the gunshot wound and is expected to recover.

“He was bleeding so much it was like a movie,” the boy’s father said, while also reflecting on his son’s current state: “Playing with his toys right now, still in shock, still traumatized a little bit.”

Qahsiem’s family set up a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses, calling the incident “absolutely heartbreaking.”

On Wednesday, the defendant turned herself in, according to a press release issued by the Phoenix Police Department.

The victim’s family shared a social media post with Arizona’s Family, which is said to have been written by the defendant in which she appears to take responsibility for the shooting but insists she did not mean to hurt the little boy.

“I will be turning myself in because I did NOT intentionally hurt a CHILD,” the post reads, in relevant part. “How can you say I feel no remorse when I didn’t even know until I was called.”

The defendant also allegedly pleaded her case with the boy’s mother directly, the family said. Chalup Cortez allegedly sent the woman a series of text messages disclaiming knowledge that Qahsiem was outside at the time, Arizona’s Family reported.

Those all-caps text messages read:

“IM GOING TO THE COPS DONT WORRY…”

“IM ON THE WAY…”

and

“BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW HE CAME OUT.”

Sinclair took issue with that account. He told the TV station:

My brother’s (ex) girlfriend was outside the house going crazy and as I’m about to go see what’s going on, my older brother tells me to stay back. ‘I’m going to go talk to her.’ My son, he thought when my brother was going outside, he thought it was time to go outside and grabbed his scooter. As soon as the first person opened the door, happened to be my son walking out with his scooter, she still did what she did. She saw the kid right there and still decided to do what she did. We need justice for Qahsiem.

Chalup Cortez is being detained in the Maricopa County Jail on $500,000 bond.