SAN DIEGO -- A woman shot along with her young son by an off-duty patrolman during an apparent road-rage dispute in a North County parking lot said Wednesday she believes the officer was trying to kill her.

"That's attempted murder on me and my son. He could have killed us. Anyone else would be behind bars right now," Rachel Silva told 10News.

San Diego police Officer Franklin White opened fire on Silva's car outside a Lowe's store on Old Grove Road the evening of March 15, according to Oceanside police.

Silva suffered two gunshot wounds to her right arm, and a round struck her son in the knee. Both were hospitalized for about five days.

There have been no arrests in the case thus far. White, an Oceanside resident who has been an SDPD officer since October 2005, is on administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations into his actions.

Wednesday, Silva's attorney, Eugene Iredale, told 10News he has filed a claim -- a precursor to a lawsuit -- against the city of San Diego, seeking unspecified damages.

While admitting to lapses in her memory of the violent confrontation, Silva denies doing anything that could justifiably prompt the 28-year-old officer to shoot her and her son.

According to investigators, Silva and White got into a traffic dispute about 9 that night, and one followed the other into a nearby parking lot in the 100 block of Old Grove Road.

A short time later, White opened fire on Silva's car. Precisely why he did so remains unclear, though he has been interviewed by Oceanside police with an attorney present.

His wife, a Carlsbad police dispatcher, was present at the shooting.

Silva's lawyer said the woman recalls having a loud argument with the officer while both were in their respective vehicles, but can't recall what precipitated the row.

So far, Silva has refused to be interviewed by Oceanside police.

At the time, Silva, who is divoced from a Marine who was in Iraq at the time of the shooting, was driving on a suspended license and facing a drunken-driving charge stemming from an arrest in January, investigators said.

Silva told 10News she doesn't remember much about the encounter but thinks Officer White should be "held accountable."