Grandmother Says 5-Year-Old Girl Is Shot In The Back In Liberty City
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A 5-year-old girl is recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital after her grandmother says she was shot in the back early Tuesday morning while sleeping inside her Liberty City apartment.
Officers were called to an apartment on NW 66th Street and 12th Avenue just before 3 a.m. on a report of shots fired from outside the apartment.
When they arrived, there was a mother holding her child in the courtyard saying that she had been shot.
According to police, Jonathan Craig has been arrested for the shooting. The girl's mother is also under arrest, according to City of Miami Police.
Craig, 40, is facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated child abuse, trafficking illegal drugs and lack of safe storage of a firearm from a minor.
"We've notified DCF. We've made an arrest. We've recovered a gun. The person that we've arrested is a convicted felon so there never should have been a gun in that house to begin with," said City of Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, who visited the girl at the hospital.
Sonia Wheelers says her granddaughter Tasha Wheelers is recovering after surgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
"Well she was alert and I just prayed and I thank God for her to be alright," said Wheelers.
She told CBS4's Peter D'Oench, "You know that's all I could do was just pray and thank God for her being alive. Police say the bullet came through the house. She was in her bed I reckon. It was early this morning and I know she was in her bed."
Wheelers rushed to the hospital.
"Well I am holding on and my daughter is holding on," she said. "So we came on down here. I don't know what to think, just pray."
The little girl was rushed to Jackson Memorial Ryder Trauma Center and was conscious and moving as she was being loaded into an ambulance.
Miami Police spokeswoman, Officer Kiara Delva, said, "This is disheartening. She is a juvenile. It's very sad. Our main goal right now is to ensure that that juvenile is ok and that we located the offender who was behind this senseless act."
Investigators initially detained a person for questioning who was located inside the same apartment as the child but could not say whether or not the man lived there.
We now know that person was Craig, who does live in the apartment, according to an arrest report.
Investigators also questioned everyone who was inside the apartment and are looking for witnesses and urge them to come forward.
Delva, "We are looking for any witnesses who know what transpired and we would ask that they please come forward so they can help us locate the offender."
The girl is expected to survive and is currently listed in stable condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
"I'm thrilled that it didn't end in a greater tragedy than what it was," said Chief Colina.
Anyone with information should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
