BURNET COUNTY (KXAN) – A shooting that lasted mere seconds and left a mother, her son and then seven-year-old daughter wounded is under the microscope as the suspect in the case stands trial this week in Burnet County .

Ismael Rodriguez, 34, is accused of shooting three family members in the early morning hours of May 31, 2010, outside of their home off Rhomberg Street .  A family fight at a party held earlier in the day is what is believed to have spurred the shooting.  It is still unclear what the argument was over.

On Tuesday, Hector Molina, a shooting victim, testified that he saw his cousin, Rodriguez, walk toward his house with a shotgun.  After seeing the shotgun, Molina told jurors he tried run inside his parent’s home along with his little sister Gabby and then girlfriend Melissa Garza.

“When I ran into the kitchen door, it felt like a whole bunch of rocks hit my leg,” recalled Molina.

Molina soon learned rocks were not being thrown at him, that what he was feeling were multiple shotgun pellets rupturing his skin.

Garza, who was not injured, told jurors she was running alongside Molina when the first shot was fired.  Garza, trying to protect Gabby, then said she took Gabby to a back bedroom and hid with her in a closet.

“She [Gabby] removed my hands,” said Garza.  “She told me she thinks she was bleeding, so when she told me that, I removed her from the closet.  We turned on the light and she was filled with blood.”

Gabby, who was crowned Little Miss Bluebonnet just three weeks before, sustained wounds to her head, stomach and arms.  Doctors later removed her appendix and pellets are still lodged in her liver.

The crux of this defense’s case hinges on what unfolded next.

Molina, fearing for his families safety, testified he grabbed a 9MM gun from under his bed and went out to confront Rodriguez.  He went on to tell jurors that by the time he got back outside, his cousin was gone but feared he was still in the area.

“I shot two shots into the air while I was in the middle of the street to make him go away so I could get help for my sister,” Molina said.

Defense attorneys Michelle Moore and Michael Watson contend Molina, upset when told about the family argument earlier saw his cousin walking toward his house and fired two shots at him. That, according to Watson, is when Rodriguez tried to defend himself and fired three shots.

“You got your gun and shot at your cousin first?” Watson asked Molina. 

Despite three eyewitness accounts that Rodriguez was seen walking up the street with a shotgun in hand and fired the first shot, a statement made by prosecution witness Randy Longoria backed the defense. 

Longoria, the suspect’s uncle, initially told police in an interview he did not hear a shotgun fired first but a 9MM gun.

Defense attorneys brought Longoria’s statement to the attention of the judge and jurors after he testified that he could not remember what he heard first.

Rodriguez is facing attempted capital murder charges.  If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Testimony will continue at 9 a.m. Wednesday.  Gabby and her mother are slated to take the stand.  It is unclear who defense attorneys will call as a witness.  It also was unclear if Rodriguez will take the stand in his own defense.