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Teen Allegedly Shot By Neighbor Says Woman 'Kept Shooting'

DENVER (CBS4) - A 33-year-old woman is accused of shooting a 14-year-old girl on Sunday night.

Police said Cherry Robertson shot the teen in the shoulder with a handgun at a home at 11th Avenue and Rosemary Street in the Lowry neighborhood. They say she tried to shoot the girl again and chased her around the building.

Cherry Robertson
Cherry Robertson in court Monday morning (credit: CBS)

Robertson was arrested for first-degree attempted murder. In a probable cause statement she admitted to police that she shot her 14-year-old neighbor who lives just doors down in an apartment.

CBS4's Jennifer Brice spoke with the victim, Niela Coleman, who said she doesn't know the woman who wounded her. Nursing a fresh gunshot wound to her shoulder, Coleman said she's thankful the bullet didn't hit her head or chest. Robertson allegedly shot her in the yard as she walked away.

"I don't even know the woman. I could have died. She should be in jail," Coleman said.

ROSEMARY SHOOTING map (2)
(credit: CBS)

Coleman said on Sunday night she went to the suspect's house to ask her daughter a question but was met with the bullets.

"I fell, I like blacked out for a minute and she kept shooting -- and I got up finally and I ran. She shot three times," Coleman said.

Coleman's brother, Kevin Collins, witnessed the shooting.

"She was pointing the gun at her again, Niela got up and ran. I was behind my sister," Kevin Collins said.

The victim's mother, Tia Collins, said the fight started because the suspect's daughter allegedly slapped her son, Coleman's other brother. Coleman went to talk to the suspect's daughter about it.

Niela Coleman
Niela Coleman (credit: CBS)

Tia Collins, who is also a nurse, said she was able to help her daughter by applying pressure to the wound until the ambulance showed up. Tia Collins said there was no reason for an adult to pull a gun on a child.

"You can knock on the parents' door and say, 'Hey, let's solve it, let's stop this right now. I want to talk to you, get our kids together and we're going to solve this and they're going to stop doing this,' " she said. "Who's the adult? Who's the adult? The mother."

Robertson's criminal history includes arrests for felony child abuse, assault with a deadly weapon and DUI. A judge her bond at $100,000.

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