Mom says son far from being a killer

Her son, Shelden Andrew Pruitt, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. The 15-year-old is accused of fatally shooting his half- sister, Alexandria Salinas, 14.

Since his arrest, there have been numerous media stories about Andrew, who goes by his middle name — alleging he had been showing off a gun and a knife at school days before the shooting and that he said, "Someone is going to die," seconds before Alexandria was shot in the neck.

Through it all, she remained quiet until Roland Salinas, Alexandria and Andrew's father, went on TV Wednesday and called his son a "cold-blooded killer" who deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison.

He also told a reporter Andrew's life with Medina was "chaotic," and she'd threatened to place him in foster care.

Attempts to reach Salinas Thursday and Friday were unsuccessful.

On Friday, Medina, 37, a Colorado resident, talked to the Star about her son in a telephone conference call with Andrew's attorney, Assistant Pima County Public Defender Kyle Ipson.

"I wasn't going to talk to any press because things get twisted and contorted, but now I'm hoping to put a stop to some of these lies," Medina said. "I'm hoping people can see through the lies to see the real child, the child that is in a lot of pain."

Ipson said Andrew is being painted falsely.

"The biggest concern I have is the projection that he intended to kill his sister. That didn't happen," Ipson said.

"I've never met a kinder, more soft-hearted kid in my life. I don't think he has the capacity to kill anyone intentionally. I think this was a tragic accident, and he is really torn up about it."

Although Medina was instructed not to answer certain questions, she did provide a glimpse into her son's life and the months leading up to the shooting.

Andrew was the result of a year-long romance with Salinas, Medina said.

The pair met while working together in Colorado, but agreed after Andrew was conceived that things would never work out between them, Medina said.

Although Salinas paid child support, Medina said she raised Andrew in Colorado with her now ex-husband, to whom she was married for 10 years.

Medina described Andrew as an avid camper, hiker and fisherman who also loves the Lord, spending time with his church group, playing computer games and listening to a wide variety of music.

Although "extremely" smart, Andrew has problems focusing because of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Medina said.

Lately, though, he'd been talking about attending college in Arizona and becoming a doctor, Medina said.

In January 2007, Andrew mistakenly opened a letter believing it was from Salinas, Medina said.

He was crushed to learn it was a court document pertaining to a child-support battle between Salinas and her, Medina said.

When she called Salinas to tell him how upset Andrew was, Salinas suggested it was time he got to know his son, Medina said.

Between January 2007 and June 2007, the two chatted on the phone several times, Medina said.

Andrew spent three weeks in Tucson around Father's Day 2007 and when he came back, he was different, Medina said.

"He started acting out; I think he was wanting more attention from his father," Medina said.

At first, Medina thought Andrew's misbehavior was typical teenage rebellion. She also thought Andrew might be having difficulty adjusting to a new stepfather.

Then, on Halloween, Andrew tried to commit suicide by slashing his arms, Medina said. He spent 10 days locked up in a treatment facility.

When he got out, Andrew began participating in family and individual counseling sessions and meeting with a psychologist, Medina said.

"After it happened, he told me that he could never commit suicide because it would hurt too much," Medina said.

Five or six months later, Andrew took Tylenol with codeine and slashed his arms again, Medina said, spending at least a week in the hospital.

"I feared that one day I would wake up and he'd be gone," Medina said, crying.

They continued with the therapy, but it got to the point that she was considering sending Andrew to a facility near Denver for more intensive therapy.

Salinas wasn't enthusiastic about the idea, though, and offered to take Andrew for a few months, Medina said.

Andrew's therapists thought it was a good idea, as long as Andrew kept going to counseling sessions, took his ADHD medicine and met regularly with a psychologist, Medina said.

"My gut said, 'Don't do it. Keep him home,' but I let him go," Medina said.

The plan was for Andrew to return to Colorado in September, Medina said.

Then Alexandria died.

Medina said she didn't learn until after the shooting that Andrew hadn't been going to counseling, seeing a doctor or taking his medication.

"If I had known, he would have been home in a heartbeat, getting the help he needed," Medina said.

Medina never had any sense there was something wrong when she spoke to her son.

"Every conversation I had with my son, he was in good spirits. He missed his family here, but that was to be expected," Medina said.

Andrew is now living with his grandmother in Northern Arizona, attending counseling sessions and waiting to be tried as an adult. His family posted $50,000 bail.

Because the judge won't allow Andrew to return to Colorado, Medina said her mother quit her job and moved to Arizona to be with him.

Medina said she speaks with her son five to 10 times a day.

He is really struggling, and so is the rest of their family, Medina said.

"I am very sorry for Roland's loss. My heart goes out to him. I have been praying that God will heal his broken heart and comfort him in his time of need," Medina said.

StarNet's Police Beat blog has more on crime in the Tucson area. Go to go.azstarnet.com/policebeat.