RICHMOND, Va. -- A two-year-old girl shot outside her Richmond home Wednesday morning was likely not the gunman's intended target, according to a Richmond Police spokesperson.
The child survived the shooting. Police said she was hospitalized and in stable condition.
Police were called to the 2300 block of Ambrose Street at about 2:11 a.m. to investigate the shooting.
"When they arrived they located the child inside an apartment with a gunshot wound to her arm," Richmond Police spokesperson Gene Lepley wrote in an email. "Detectives have determined the child was outside the building with a family member when the shooting occurred and she was carried inside as police were called. They do not believe she was the intended target."
As the sun came up Wednesday, neighbors like Tria woke to the news.
"That's sad. That’s real sad. That really hurt my heart," Tria said. "You know all this stuff is really happening in the community and there’s no one to really help us."
Tria said in many ways, she doesn't feel safe in her own neighborhood -- especially when it comes to her grandchildren.
"It's still bad out here. You know I don’t feel comfortable with my grandkids playing out here. When they come outside they come on the back for a little bit, for a little time -- and I go on the back. I sit there. If it's not me, it's the mother," she said. "I don't think kids should have to live like that. No one should have to live like that."
She called on the community to come together.
"Love each other. You know, help protect one another. Look out for each other. That’s all," she said.
Police are now searching for a dark Nissan sedan, possibly a Maxima, seen leaving the area after the shooting.
Anyone with information on this case was asked to call Crime Stoppers at 804 780-1000.
