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16-Year-Old Shot While Walking Her Dog In Somerville

SOMERVILLE (CBS) -- A 16-year-old girl is in critical but stable condition after she was shot in Somerville early Monday morning.

The victim's father, who did not want to be identified, said she was walking her dog when she was shot. "All I knew was when she was walking the dog there was a white BMW and the guy was stopping and saying something," he said. "That's when they did the fire. Fired the shots."

The Somerville father explains it was heart-wrenching to watch his teen daughter cry in her hospital bed at Mass General Monday.

"I'm very emotional. I became very emotional when I saw her, especially when she was screaming from the pain," he said. He asked not to be shown on camera.

The 16-year-old is recovering from surgery after she was shot in the back of the thigh walking her dog overnight. It happened near Jacques and Grant Streets. Other bullets fired into random homes.

"I heard shots. It sounded like pops. It was July 4th, I thought it was fireworks. I saw a girl lying in the street over there. Her friend was running back and forth going crazy," a neighbor recalled.

While the teen was rushed to the hospital, police followed the dog's tag to tell her parents.

"I'm very shocked right now. Heartbroken. Thank God she survived. Shouldn't happen to anybody, not only my daughter," the father added.

Somerville's Mayor Joseph Curtatone shared an emotional statement, writing: "I'm furious about this. You should be too. Too many damn guns. Too much damn violence…These are our neighborhoods and safety is not optional."

No arrests have been reported.

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