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Police: 'Quite a few' leads in boat shooting

Detectives don't know whether the woman was an intended target. She's in critical condition.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published March 17, 2005

TAMPA - Detectives, pursuing several leads in the Monday night shooting of a Tampa woman who was boating with family along the Hillsborough River, said Wednesday that Theresa Fauci was shot in the neck with a .22-caliber bullet.

Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said police found .22-caliber casings along the west riverbank north of Columbus Drive, where witnesses reported several shots coming from a group of males.

Detectives have not found the person seen walking a dog along the west bank of the river at the time of the shooting, but McElroy said investigators have "quite a few leads on the case."

They don't believe dead ducks found along the riverbank are related to Fauci's shooting, but they aren't sure whether the shooter or shooters intentionally aimed at the Faucis' white and teal pontoon boat, McElroy said.

As investigators combed the riverside neighborhood interviewing residents who might have seen or heard something crucial, Fauci, 48, remained at St. Joseph's Hospital in critical condition but showing signs of a strong recovery.

Her eyes fluttered open Wednesday morning. She moved her arms and legs. She gave a thumbs-up sign to her mother. When Fauci's relatives told her how much they love her and believe in her recovery, she patted her chest near her heart three times.

"We're the Rocky Balboas, you know?" said her older sister Margarite Sicard. "We come out punching. I know that's what she's doing. She's going to get through this."

Fauci was shot before 10 p.m. Monday as she and her husband returned to their riverfront West Tampa home from a pontoon boat ride with relatives along the Hillsborough River north of Columbus Drive.

Fauci had suggested the ride to calm the nerves of her husband's cousins, who were in town for a funeral, Sicard said.

"That is just like her, thinking of how to help someone else."

The Faucis heard what sounded like firecrackers just before Fauci was shot. All of a sudden, Theresa Fauci slumped over and started bleeding. Her husband, Joey Fauci, screamed.

Joey Fauci's cousin, 62-year-old Tom Cardinale, looked up and saw a puff of smoke coming from the west bank. A group of males - Cardinale couldn't tell how old or how many - ran off.

Wednesday, Fauci's mother stood outside St. Joseph's Hospital and thanked strangers, longtime friends and business acquaintances of the Faucis for all their calls and support. She also pleaded with the shooter or shooters to go to police.

"Please, whoever did this terrible tragedy, come forward," said Pierrette Schneider, 70, of Plant City. Schneider said her daughter had a small stroke after the bullet tore through the main artery on the left side of her neck, interrupting blood flow to the brain. Doctors found a clot near where the bullet remains lodged; they planned to monitor it throughout the night.

"When they brought her to the hospital, they did not think she would make it," Schneider said. "But I think she will recover from this. It's a miracle she is doing this well."

Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler can be reached at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 17, 2005, 01:30:07]