A 21-year-old man allegedly shot his own stepmom at a New Mexico school graduation ceremony when she tried to give him a hug – and even tried to stomp on her, Albuquerque police said.

Cristian Bencomo was wrestled to the ground by bystanders after the shooting Thursday at the graduation ceremony for the Southwest Secondary Learning Center, an Albuquerque charter school, according to a report by KRQE-TV News.

The shocking incident unfolded around 5 p.m. at the Albuquerque Convention Center, leaving the victim – identified by the outlet as Victoria Bencomo – hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the neck.

“Somebody came up and shot my sister,” the victim’s sister, Angel Chester, told the outlet. “Right in the neck. I keep thinking that it’s a bad dream that I’ll wake up from.”

According to Chester, her sister invited relatives to her son’s graduation and was hugging the younger boy when Bencomo showed up at the convention center.

“And then when I looked back Cristian was standing there and my sister actually tried to hug him,” Chester said. “And he pushed her away and then he just pulled out the gun.

“After he shot her and she fell to the ground he started stomping on her head,” she told KRQE.

She said Victoria Bencomo is in critical but stable condition and expected to recover.

Cristian Bencomo is charged with aggravated battery, illegal weapons possession and other charges.