An emotional mom blasted gun violence in New York City after a stray bullet struck her teen daughter on Thanksgiving Day while she was picking up brown sugar in the Bronx for their family meal.
The victim's mother told the New York Post in an interview on Friday, November 25, that it is out of control. She added that every day, you hear something happening.
Cops said that a 14-year-old girl was shot in broad daylight at around 2:20 p.m. on Thursday, November 24, near East 225th Street and Schieffelin Avenue, across from the New York City Housing Authority's (NYCHA) Edenwald Houses.
Cops believe teen girl shot was an innocent bystander
Police believe the teen girl was an innocent bystander in the shooting and that the shooter, who remains at large, had been targeting another person. The victim's mom, who wished to remain anonymous, said that her daughter and her 16-year-old son went to the store to buy ingredients for a sweet potato holiday pie.
Shortly after leaving home, the woman's son called in a panic, saying that his sister had been shot in the leg. The woman said her children had just left the house in less than five minutes when her daughter got shot.
The brother helped his injured sister into a nearby building before EMS and police were called to treat her. By the time their mother arrived, the victim was already being treated, according to Fox News.
The worried mother said that her daughter was crying. She said she tried to get to her, but her leg was already getting treated. To comfort her wounded child in pain, she touched her kid's hand and rubbed her head, hair, and face.
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Mom wants the shooter to pay for what happened
Her teen daughter was then taken to Jacobi Medical Center for additional treatment, according to ABC 7. She was later released from the hospital. The distraught mom said the assault on her child shook up her entire family.
The woman said the shooting happened on a day when the family was together to help comfort her. She added that her daughter was surrounded by love. She wants whoever did this to her daughter to pay, but she believes God is in control. She had a message for the shooter that if they didn't repent, one day, they would pay.
New York Police Department (NYPD) and members of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) task force have reportedly opened an investigation into the teen girl's shooting. Authorities did not have any information on the shooter, and it remains unclear whom the suspect was targeting at that time.
