Mom of seven shot dead on doorstep in Arizona

MESA, Ariz. (CNN, KYMA) - An Arizona man is looking for answers after he says his wife was shot dead on their neighbor's doorstep.

He says police haven't told him much about what happened.

"She's a great person. She did a lot for these kids too," said Albert Mendivil, husband of Maria Lewis.

Lewis, who was 32-year-olds and was a mother to seven kids between the ages of two and 11, died just a few hundred feet from home on her neighbor's doorstep.

That's according to Mendivil, who has many questions about what led to his wife's death.

"Right now, I'm just thinking she's still out there," Mendivil remarked.

Mendivil says his wife went for a walk around their quiet southeast Mesa neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.

He was at home with their children when he saw police lights through the window.

"I see red and blue lights on the back of the apartments and I came running out and look over, and that's when police pulled me back," Mendivil shared.

Mendivil says investigators confirmed his wife had died, but he still doesn't know why she was shot.

"I don't know. I don't know what happened. I don't know what made her go over there," Mendivil expressed.

According to the Mesa Police Department, officers responded to a welfare check at a home near Ray and Ellsworth Roads Saturday morning.

Officers found an adult had died of an apparent gunshot wound and police now confirm to a news outlet in the Phoenix area that person was Lewis.

A manner of death for her is not listed on the medical examiner's page. Police aren't sharing any other information, including who shot her or what led up to the shooting.

The news outlet knocked on the neighbor's door where the shooting reportedly happened, but no one answered.

The doorbell and several pavers near the doorstep are missing.

"Just loss for words right now," Mendivil spoke.

As friends since childhood, Mendivil says he and Lewis spent most of their life together.

"Pretty much like my sweetheart," he said. "She was an amazing woman. She was bright, had a beautiful smile."

He lost his best friend and seven children lost their mother.

"We had a good life together," Mendivil declared.

Police say detectives are actively investigating, and they will share more information once available.

A GoFundMe has been created to help the family. It has a goal of $22,000, with over $1,530 raised so far. If anyone would like to donate to the GoFundMe, click here.