Jul 3, 2009 2:41 pm US/Eastern
5-Year-Old Girl Shot In West Baltimore
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ―
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A 5-year-old girl fights for her life after she was struck by a stray bullet in Southwest Baltimore.
CBS
A five-year-old is on life support, fighting for her life Friday after falling victim to a stray bullet, after a street fight amongst young men in her neighborhood.
Authorities say she was simply walking down the street when she was hit.
Mike Hellgren reports the violent incident has led to prayers of supporters from City Hall to the child's neighborhood, but many are also outraged.
The little girl is in a medically induced coma on life support at Shock Trauma, and both because of her age, and her having been an innocent victim there has been an intense urgency from police and the community to find the person who shot her.
"Five years old and a child got shot in the head," says Cashe Diggs, both a mother and a neighbor.
It felt like a community panicking as police frantically searched for the man who shot a five-year-old girl in Southwest Baltimore.
"Your kids can't even come outside and play without getting shot. That's sad," Diggs says.
Police rounded up several young men who, they say, were fighting on South Pulaski Street.
The fight broke up then someone came back with intentions to kill.
"What could the fight have possibly been about? So, earthly important that the result could potentially take a young girl's life?" asked Baltimore City Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld.
The little girl was walking home with her older cousin returning from the beauty supply store and when she got to this block, an unknown shooter had too arrived with a semi-automatic handgun.
"I heard five shots pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and then I heard people screaming," said John Gollick, a witness.
"The little girl tried to run, and a stray bullet, I guess hit her," adds Diggs.
"And then I heard sirens," said Gollick.
The police helicopter searched from above.
The SWAT team targeted several homes, but came up empty handed.
"We have a lot of things going for us in this case. We have people in this neighborhood that care," said Commissioner Bealefeld.
Investigators say police cameras captured part of the fight then the suspect running away, something police plan to use to identify the suspect.
"I'm very angry about this. This is the beginning of a person's life, and you have these thugs, who for whatever reason, are not, just don't care about life," said Mayor Sheila Dixon.
The Mayor is not alone in her anger.
One man says
he shielded his son to protect and prevent him from being shot. He says he wouldn't be able to deal with the pain of losing a child.
The shooter is still at large and officials believe he has an illegal gun.
They'll rely on that police video and the abnormal amount of witness information to track down the person who pulled the trigger.
City police brought in several young men for questioning, but have not charged any of them.
People with information are encouraged to contact police.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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