I don’t know if there is anyone braver on earth than a parent who escapes an abusive situation with their children. Making the conscious decision to leave for the sake mental and physical health is one of the most selfless and best decisions a parent can make. Domestic abuse victims are regularly plagued with fear and unwarranted guilt, so successfully escaping is nothing short of miraculous. But the sad reality is that for many abuse victims who are parents, the torment doesn’t necessarily end with the leaving.
If they are in a situation where they have to legally coparent, they are routinely forced to interact with their former abuser. Sometimes, even if they are estranged, the threat of violence still exists if they live in the same town or nearby.
A Longmont, Colorado, mom lived relatively close to her abusive ex, and it nearly ended her life.
An arrest affidavit stated that in March 2024, Brandon Allen, 48, called 911 and told dispatchers, “I think I just killed my ex-wife,” according to Law & Crime. He had just finished firing off rounds into the car where his ex, Nicki Douglass-Johansen, and their 7-year-old twins were sitting in the driveway of her home. The bullet cut through her neck, hitting her carotid artery, and “bounced all around” before shattering her jaw. She also was shot in the thigh.
“Two kids were in the backseat of this vehicle when the shooting occurred, but were uninjured,” the affidavit reads, per Law & Crime. “[One of the children] said he and his sister were in the back seat of the vehicle about to go to the store with their mom.”…