Two boys, 10 and 13, on life support in Pennsylvania after mother shot them in the head, police say

UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa. – Trinh Nguyen was facing a deadline.

After months of a dispute over more than $11,000 in back rent, eviction day was finally coming Tuesday and authorities could force her from the Upper Makefield home she shared with her two boys.

By Monday afternoon she would be in police custody, and her sons, just 10 and 13, would lay in hospital beds critically wounded on life support as township police and Bucks County detectives investigated what went so tragically wrong in the family's home on Timber Ridge Road that morning.

The boys were not expected to survive the injuries they suffered, but as of Tuesday morning, authorities had not reported any change in their condition.

The Bucks County District Attorney on Monday said the children's mother, Trinh Nguyen, 38, shot her sons in their heads early Monday morning before trying to shoot 22-year-old Gianni Melchiondo, as he left for work from his home on the same property where Nguyen and the boys lived.

Police and Melchiondo's mother, who is also an aunt to the young victims and the landlord of the property, would find the boys laying in their beds alive but critically wounded as authorities said their mother fled the scene.

Here's what we know as police continue to investigate Tuesday:

What happened Monday in Upper Makefield?

Trinh Nguyen shot both her children inside the rented home they share in a neighborhood off Highland Road in Upper Makefield and then turned the gun on Gianni Melchiondo, who ran into the mother as he was leaving for work. Nguyen and Melchiondo both lived at the Timber Ridge Road property in what authorities called a duplex.

At about 7:05 a.m., Nguyen gave a box of photos to Melchiondo, 22, and asked him to give the photos to her ex-husband, Bucks County DA Matt Weintraub said.

Melchiondo is the nephew of Nguyen's ex-husband, who is the younger boy's father, and the son of the landlord of the Timber Ridge Road home, according to the criminal complaint. His mother and police would find the children in their beds with gunshot wounds to the head, sparking a manhunt early Monday for Nguyen after she pointed the gun at Melchiondo, pulling the trigger twice, police allege.  

“But by the grace of God, the gun did not fire,” Weintraub said. 

Melchiondo got Nguyen in a “bear hug,” and managed to get the gun away from her, he said. She then fled the scene. 

What is the status of the boys?

As of early Tuesday morning, the children remained on life support. At least one of the boys underwent surgery at St. Mary Medical Center on Monday, according to court records. Neither boy is expected to survive and the family has decided to donated their organs so they can be transplanted in others.

“I have two kids; it can’t hit any closer to home than this. I’ve been saying my prayers ever since I got the call this morning,” Weintraub said. 

“It’s a very difficult image to get out of my head,” he said.

How was Trinh Nguyen arrested and charged?

After fleeing, Nguyen was on the run and considered "armed and dangerous" for hours before police found her and took her into custody Monday at about 11:30 a.m.

Nguyen was spotted going over the Washington Crossing Bridge into Hopewell, New Jersey shortly after the incident, according to the DA. More than four hours later, she was spotted in the parking lot of Washington Crossing United Methodist Church. 

“I give credit to the church officials, who saw our social media post, and alerted police that the defendant was in a van in their parking lot,” Weintraub said. 

Nguyen was taken into custody there. The DA said there was indications she was under the influence of drugs at the time. She was also found with ammunition for her revolver in her vehicle when she was arrested, according to Weintraub. 

She was arraigned Monday on four counts of felony attempted homicide and one count of possessing an instrument of crime, which is a misdemeanor.  She was denied bail and taken to Bucks County Corrections.

Charges against her were expected to be upgraded to homicide as her sons were not expected to survive.

What was the motive in the shooting?

Authorities say they are still investigating what led to the shooting on Timber Ridge Road on Monday.

Police from Lower Makefield, Newtown Township, Newtown Borough and the Central Bucks Crime Scene Unit helped Upper Makefield and Bucks County detectives in the investigation. The DA declined to comment on the motive Monday. 

“We have some very strong leads on motive, but I think it would be premature and unfair of me to comment on motive right now,” he said, adding that a motive would become evident in the future. 

Was Trinh Nguyen facing eviction?

Yes, and by Tuesday she could have been physically removed and forced to leave the home, according to court documents.

Nguyen was ordered to leave their luxury home, described by officials as a duplex with relatives living in separate units, by Tuesday for failure to pay more than $11,000 in rent, this news organization has learned through court documents detailing the eviction proceedings.

Weintraub would not comment on the eviction proceedings Monday.

This news organization has independently confirmed through court records that Nguyen was in a landlord-tenant dispute with her ex-sister-in-law, Corinna Tini-Melchiondo, who owns the five-bedroom home.

Nguyen and her now ex-husband, Ed Tini, moved into the Timber Ridge home after they were married in 2012 and she continued to live there with her sons after he moved out last June, according to court documents. 

Nguyen's lease was terminated in late September, about a month before her divorce from Tini was finalized, court records show.

A district judge ordered Nguyen to pay $11,500 in rent and other costs in December and she appealed the district court ruling to Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. An order for possession, the final step in an eviction proceeding, was issued in April, with an eviction date of May 3, 2022. 

This news organization has filed right to know requests to determine if there was any police activity at the house leading up to Monday's shootings.

What about the young victims?

On Monday night, the older brother's classmates remembered the 13-year-old with a vigil at Newtown Middle School, where he was a student. The boy was a swimmer, with medals to prove his success in the water. Online tributes remembered him as a helpful and kind kid, who volunteered his morning to assist in a special needs classroom at his school.

His younger brother was a student at Sol Feinstone Elementary School. He is 10, according to court records. In social media posts, he was remembered as a sweet and funny boy, who played sports. This news organization is withholding their names at this time.