LOS ANGELES, Jan 25, (Agencies): A California woman whose son was fatally shot in 2021 in what authorities say was a road rage incident has said in court that the suspect smiled at her before opening fire, according to a report. Joanna Cloonan, the mother of Aiden Leos, spoke Monday in the trial of Marcus Anthony Eriz, who has been charged with second-degree murder and other counts.

In the May 2021 shooting, Aiden was sitting in the backseat of a Chevrolet sedan while his mother was driving, the California Highway Patrol Officer Florentino Olivera said during a news conference. Wynn Lee, Eriz's girlfriend, was driving while Eriz was in the passenger seat of the car.

Soon after the shooting, Cloonan said in an interview that as she was driving with her son, Lee’s car cut her off. In court Monday, she recounted the eerie moments right before the shooting. She alleged that after cutting her off, Lee flashed a “peace” sign at her. Moments later, she heard a noise that she said sounded as though “a big rock hit the car,” she said, according to the outlet. She then heard, “Ow!” from her son who was sitting behind her and turned to see that his “his head was hanging down.” Two weeks after the shooting, and one day after Aiden's memorial service, the suspects were arrested.