Riverside

Friends Claim Woman Who Fatally Shot Baby's Father Was Domestic Violence Victim

A homicide investigation is underway after a woman fatally shot her ex-boyfriend, who is her baby’s father, in Riverside last month.

On Feb. 23 around 9 p.m., Riverside police officers were called to the 2000 block of Stratford Way where a woman notified neighbors she had just shot her baby’s father.

Officers found a man inside the house suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries, police said. His name has not yet been released.

Balinda Ballinger, 37, was arrested the following day for attempted murder. After the victim died, the charges were amended to murder with malice, Officer Ryan Railsback said.

Friends of Ballinger claim the mother acted in self-defense and was a "victim of domestic violence at the hands of her baby’s father." 

They've started a GoFundMe campaign to "get her back to her baby who is traumatized by these events and doesn’t k now why he can’t see his mama." 

Railsback said the department is looking into all possibilities and that the investigation is ongoing.

Ballinger is currently being housed at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and her bail has been set at $1,000,000, according to court records.

Note that GoFundMe deducts 2.9 percent of all funds raised, plus 30 cents per donation, in the form of payment processing charges.

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