Stacy Rodriguez told a Lancaster County court how the attack affected her eyesight, mobility, parenting and 3-year-old daughter.
LANCASTER, Pa. — Stacy Rodriguez entered a Lancaster County courtroom alive, working and rebuilding her independence, then described the permanent costs of surviving the 19 gunshot wounds inflicted by the father of her young daughter.
Her testimony preceded a judge’s decision to sentence Ezekiel Daniel Sanderful, 33, to 13 1/2 to 40 years in state prison. Sanderful pleaded guilty June 10 to attempted murder, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office said he had drawn Rodriguez to his East Cocalico Township residence during a custody dispute, opened fire as their 3-year-old daughter stood near him, reloaded the handgun and continued shooting. Rodriguez survived, but prosecutors said she lost sight in one eye and motor function in one arm.
Rodriguez told Judge Merrill Spahn that she still experiences permanent pain from wounds to her head, torso and legs. The attack also caused numerous broken bones, according to prosecutors. In describing the practical effects of those injuries, she focused on an ordinary act she can no longer perform: combing her daughter’s hair. That detail showed the court how the violence reached into the routines of parenting long after emergency workers stopped the bleeding and doctors saved her life.
She also spoke about the effect on the daughter who witnessed the shooting at age 3. Prosecutors said the girl stood within arm’s reach of Sanderful as he fired. She later told police she saw her mother being shot in the face. Although the child was not physically harmed, Rodriguez said she has suffered nightmares and must grow up without her father in her life. Sanderful’s conviction for endangering the welfare of children arose from the girl’s presence during the attack.
Rodriguez’s account did not end with her injuries. She told the court that she had recently received her driver’s license, secured a promotion at work and remained determined to raise her daughter without Sanderful. Those milestones reflected a recovery that has required her to adapt to impaired vision, reduced use of an arm and ongoing pain. A fundraising page created after the shooting said Rodriguez also had four other children, adding to the family responsibilities she faced while undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.
The courtroom appearance came about 18 months after East Cocalico Township police found Rodriguez in the street outside Sanderful’s home. Officers responded to the first block of Reinholds Road at about 8:10 p.m. Dec. 9, 2024. The police department said she had been shot in the head, torso and legs. Officers provided medical aid at the scene before she was transported to a hospital, where she was initially reported in stable condition. The early police account did not yet describe the lasting impairments later presented at sentencing.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez came to the residence because Sanderful had led her to believe she could retrieve their daughter. The district attorney’s office characterized the arrangement as a lure connected to a dispute about custody. After Rodriguez arrived, Sanderful pointed a handgun at her and fired several times. She fell to the ground, but the attack did not stop. Authorities said he reloaded the weapon and shot her again while the child remained close enough to witness what was happening.
At sentencing, Rodriguez recalled crying, pleading for her life and hearing the sound of the weapon being reloaded. “You tried to violently execute me,” she told Sanderful, according to the district attorney’s office. The statement conveyed why prosecutors viewed the case as attempted murder rather than a spontaneous assault involving a single shot. Sanderful’s guilty plea acknowledged that criminal charge, along with aggravated assault and the child endangerment offense.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica Collo, who prosecuted the case, described Rodriguez’s survival and presence in court as “truly a miracle.” Spahn agreed that the outcome could easily have been a homicide. Before imposing the sentence, the judge told Sanderful that “but for the grace of emergency medicine and the grace of God,” he would have faced life imprisonment on a first-degree murder charge. The comments underscored the difference that emergency treatment made in both Rodriguez’s life and the legal posture of the case.
The police response also prevented the confrontation from continuing. Authorities said Sanderful retreated into his residence when officers arrived. He later surrendered and was taken into custody without further incident. Investigators recovered the semiautomatic pistol used in the shooting from inside the home. The daughter was found physically unharmed. Police arrested Sanderful and sent him to Lancaster County Prison, where he was held as the attempted homicide case proceeded.
Detective Brandon Van Ausdal of the East Cocalico Township Police Department filed the charges. At the time of Sanderful’s arrest, police identified the offenses as attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. The district attorney’s office later pursued the case as attempted murder, aggravated assault and child endangerment. The prosecution ended without a trial when Sanderful entered guilty pleas to one count of each offense.
Sanderful addressed the court before the sentence was announced. He apologized for harming Rodriguez and said he hoped he might make amends. Prosecutors quoted him as saying he wanted “to show other men that this isn’t the way.” The public summary of the hearing did not indicate that Rodriguez accepted the apology, and it did not report any agreement that would restore contact between Sanderful and the family.
The judge’s order instead placed firm legal boundaries around future contact. Sanderful is prohibited from contacting Rodriguez or their daughter. He must pay more than $2,000 in restitution and may not possess a firearm in the future. The prison sentence carries a minimum of 13 1/2 years and a maximum of 40 years, meaning any eventual release after the minimum would depend on Pennsylvania’s parole process rather than occurring automatically.
The sentencing resolved the criminal charges, but Rodriguez’s testimony made clear that the consequences cannot be measured only by the length of the prison term. Her lost vision, impaired arm and chronic pain remain part of her life, as do her daughter’s reported nightmares. Her driver’s license and promotion marked steps forward, while the no-contact order and lengthy sentence formalized the separation from the man who admitted attacking her.
Author note: Last updated July 15, 2026.