The recorded calls to the Corpus Christi Police Department document the chaos and clarity of those final moments. On the emergency tape, Norma Martinez can be heard shouting over the lobby clamor: "We have a girl that was just shot... she's bleeding everywhere."
When the dispatcher pressed for details on the assailant, the clerk passed along what Selena had spoken moments earlier: "She said Yolanda. Room 158. She's in room 158."
Officers arriving on the scene acted instantly on that verbal dying declaration. Units secured the perimeter of Room 158 while emergency medical teams began treatment on Selena.
When Saldívar ran to her red GMC pickup truck in the parking lot, patrol cars boxed her in, sparking a nine-hour standoff with police hostage negotiators. Selena’s words eliminated ambiguity from the start, directing police directly to the shooter's location while preventing Saldívar from slipping away into highway traffic.
