ELBA, MN – Authorities have arrested a 64-year-old woman after she allegedly opened fire on her neighbor, seriously injuring the victim as she sat inside her car late Tuesday in this small southeastern Minnesota town.

Ava Leone Kock faces charges of second-degree attempted murder and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon following the shooting, which left a 34-year-old woman hospitalized with a gunshot wound. The incident took place around 10 p.m. after deputies from the Winona County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of gunfire in the community of Elba.

According to investigators, a witness said he was playing video games inside his home when he received a call from the victim, who urgently asked him to come outside. When he reached the parking lot, he found the woman slumped under the dashboard of her Jeep. Multiple bullet holes were observed in the vehicle’s windshield and driver’s side door.

The victim told deputies she had just pulled her Jeep into a parking lot when shots were fired at her, striking her in the eye with bullet fragments. Authorities later determined her vehicle had been hit by gunfire seven times, and that fragments had entered her brain. Deputies quickly identified Kock, who lived in a nearby apartment, as a suspect.

When questioned, Kock cooperated with authorities but denied going outside during the shooting, although deputies found seven holes in her apartment’s bathroom screen, which appeared consistent with the bullet holes in the victim’s vehicle. Kock claimed the damage had existed since she moved in a year earlier.

The following day, Kock contacted 911, saying she had tried to alert federal agents and now wished to speak with local law enforcement about suspected homicides in the area. She told deputies she believed her neighbors, the victim, and the witness were involved in criminal acts, including murder and sexual assault, and alleged she had heard evidence of victims being buried in the basement.

According to the complaint, Kock told deputies she felt compelled to act because, in her opinion, authorities had failed to stop the supposed criminal behavior of her neighbors. She reportedly said she “didn’t want to hear them anymore,” so she took her son’s rifle and shot at the Jeep as her neighbor was pulling into the lot. Investigators said she described saying a prayer before pulling the trigger, asking for guidance for her bullets, referencing a biblical story in her statement.

After the shooting, Kock told authorities she hid the rifle behind her stove and concealed the shell casings in a potted plant within her apartment. A search warrant executed at the residence led deputies to recover both the gun and evidence of the shooting.

Investigators also spoke to a business owner located next to Kock’s apartment, who recalled Kock expressing frustration about her neighbors just a month earlier, suggesting she might “take out” one of them due to noise complaints and concerns about possible assaults.

Kock was arrested without incident and booked into the Winona County Jail, where she is being held on $500,000 bond. A judge has ordered a mental competency evaluation before the case proceeds. Kock is expected to appear in court again on Thursday.

The victim remains hospitalized, but no further updates on her condition have been released. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not found evidence to substantiate Kock’s claims regarding her neighbors.