Grandfather of 5-year-old girl hurt in Bronx shooting says "she'll be traumatized"
A man whose 5-year-old granddaughter was wounded in a shooting in the Bronx fears she may be traumatized after getting caught in the crossfire.
Steven Willis, the girl's grandfather, said she was recovering Thursday after a bullet grazed her ear when a group opened fire on a busy street during rush hour Wednesday in the Longwood section.
"They're saying she's going to be OK, you know," Willis said in a phone interview with CBS News New York. "She's a beautiful girl, man."
Girl was not intended target, sources say
The NYPD said they're looking for three men suspected of firing the shots on Southern Boulevard. Sources said two groups were firing at each other and the 5-year-old was not the intended target.
Willis said his granddaughter is hospitalized in stable condition.
"She's a little girl. She'll be traumatized by it," he said.
New surveillance video of the incident shows people walking along the busy sidewalk, then suddenly looking back and scrambling for cover. What appears to be a group of teens then sprints by, with at least one displaying a gun.
One witness said he ducked between two cars to shield himself from the gunfire. A bullet also struck a deli, shattering its glass window.
"This is what they called 'red zone.' This is the belly of the beast," said Bronx resident Diane Whittington.
Reminder of tragic Brooklyn shooting
Willis said the Bronx shooting reminded him of the April 1 shooting in Brooklyn, where police said 7-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore was shot and killed by a stray bullet.
Two men ages 18 and 21 were were arrested and charged in the baby's death.
"These young kids playing with these guns, it's just crazy," Willis said. "All these cameras they got, they need to put them to use."
"It's the lack of life ... nobody's safe anymore," Whittington said.
Police said the Longwood shooting remains under investigation.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
