SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A baby was grazed by a stray bullet that reportedly fell from the sky while he was outside with his family on the Fourth of July.
Police say it happened in the 100 block of South 5th Street. Police were called to the scene just after 9:20 p.m. The 14-month-old was transported to a local hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening.
The baby’s grandmother, Lisa Robinson, told WAVY they were enjoying a cookout in her backyard. She had six grandkids out there and was changing Carter’s diaper when it happened. “He started crying and I was you know talking to him askin’ ‘why are you crying? I’m just changing your Pamper’ and that’s when I seen the blood on my hands.”
An ambulance took Carter to the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters.
Robinson says the bullet grazed his skull, but luckily, she said he is doing very well and should be home soon.
“When you’re holding a baby in your arms you feel like that is the safest place they could be at,” she said.
Robinson is relieved, but she is also angry. There were so many gunshots in the area that night it may be impossible for police to determine who is responsible.
“Put the guns down, let the kids be kids. Let them enjoy life,” she said.
“The senseless act of firing a weapon randomly into the air to celebrate a holiday or any other event can have potentially deadly consequences. These acts are not fun, they are not patriotic and they are not acceptable. These acts are dangerous. Thankfully, the child in this case is expected to be okay. Detectives are working tirelessly to identify the individual that caused this situation to occur. It is our duty and responsibility to do all we can to ensure that the residents of Suffolk to feel safe inside or outside their home,” Interim Police Chief Alfred Chandler said in a news release Tuesday.