FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – A Fleming Island mother is asking for prayers and answers after her daughter was brutally attacked outside a convenience store in San Diego County and remains on life support with a traumatic brain injury.
San Diego-area police said the assault happened April 30 near a 7-Eleven in La Mesa. Officers responding to reports of a woman lying unconscious and bleeding from the head found 38-year-old Kaitlyn Kurn with serious injuries, according to police.
Investigators said surveillance video showed a man following Kurn moments before the attack. Police arrested 22-year-old Alexis Moreno-Magana, who was booked into the San Diego County Jail on a charge of attempted homicide.
LuAnne Collins, Kurn’s mother, said she was notified the next day and learned her daughter had been attacked after walking into the store and leaving.
“She just walked in a 7-Eleven convenience store and went out and was attacked,” Collins said. “It’s just shocking that this could happen to her.”
Collins said video appears to show the suspect following her daughter inside the store. She said her daughter walked about 400 feet away when the suspect attacked her with a large rock, striking her repeatedly in the head. Collins said her daughter also suffered a broken arm while trying to defend herself.
Police said Kurn was found face down in a parking lot and was taken to a hospital, where she remains in intensive care.
Collins said her daughter did not know the suspect, and she believes it was a random attack on an innocent bystander.
Despite her daughter’s critical condition, Collins said her family is leaning on faith and hoping for a Mother’s Day miracle.
“They’re not seeing that much improvement, but I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe in miracles,” Collins said. “And I firmly believe that with God’s help, she will make it through this.”
Collins said she hopes her daughter recovers and that she can bring her closer to home in Northeast Florida.