CBS4 Exclusive: One Of Miami's Youngest Crime Victims May Need Years Of Therapy
MIAMI(CBSMiami) - A year after a Miami mother and her unborn child were nearly killed in a drive-by shooting, both victims are still recovering. But the mother says she is grateful that they are healthy and is optimistic about their future.
"It means a lot to me that my daughter is healthy," says 28-year-old Tiffany Davis in an exclusive interview with CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "She means so much to me. She is everything to me."
Tiffany Davis was leaving her job at an Overtown convenience store around 8:30 p.m. on December 9th of 2012 when Miami police said two gunmen fired between eight and ten bullets. It happened outside the store at N.W. 2nd Ave. and N.W. 17TH St.
Police said the shooters' intended target, 18-year-old Rodney Durant Junior, was killed. They said Davis was an innocent victim.
One bullet entered Davis's head and is still lodged in her forehead. She said she will need medication for the rest of her life because of that traumatic brain injury. A second bullet entered her stomach and hit her daughter, Skyla Milton, in the left arm.
The child was then an eight-month-old fetus. Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital delivered her prematurely to save her life and treat her wound.
Davis feels it is a miracle that she and her daughter survived.
D'Oench spoke with Davis inside her Miami apartment and watched as her daughter Skyla laughed and played with a CBS4 microphone. She also crawled on the floor and walked around with the help of her mother and grandmother.
"She is a good baby," says Skyla's grandmother, Kimilee Davis. "She plays a lot and listens to music and she can standup for a minute and she crawls around."
She showed us where Sklya was wounded and said, "Right here, right here was where she was shot. She can't move that arm that much. But she can move around."
Davis said her daughter would need months and perhaps years of therapy before she could use her left arm normally.
"It's been tough," she said. "It has been tough. But I am glad everything is alright. It feels good that she can open her presents and her toys. It means a lot to me that doctors were able to save the lives of my daughter and my granddaughter."
Skyla's older sisters are grateful as well during this holiday.
"She's cute. She's fun. She's funny," said 7-year-old Naomi Davis. Her four-year-old sister, Tiffany Davis, said of Skyla, "Her pretty. Her nice."
Miami Police say this case is still unsolved and they are looking for leads and could use help from the public.
"They just need to find the person who did this," said Tiffany Davis.
"All I can say is whoever you are, you didn't have to do this," said Kimilee Davis. "You didn't have to do what you did to my daughter and my granddaughter. Just give yourself up so I can know what you did."
There's a limited description of the suspects who police said fled in an SUV that's either dark green or black.
Davis said she did not remember what happened when she was shot. "I just blacked out."
In January of 2013, she said, "It's like crazy. I don't know how it happened. I just know that I was leaving the store and I got hit and I just dropped. That's all I remember. One bullet went through there in my head. It was stitched up and then one went in my stomach and my daughter got hit."
Anyone who can help Miami Police with this case is urged to call them or Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-tips (8477).
