A mother is grateful for the good Samaritan who helped her child after he was caught in the crossfire of a shooting in Lauderhill. NBC6’s Marissa Bagg reports
A child was taken to a hospital after police say he was caught up in gunfire at a parking lot of a Lauderhill supermarket on Memorial Day.
The shooting stemmed from an altercation in the parking lot located at 1531 North State Road 7, according to Lauderhill Police.
A shopper told NBC6 she heard two people fighting over a parking space when someone took out a gun and started shooting, hitting the child.
“Ran back in, I left the buggy there and grabbed my son and as I’m grabbing him, he says, 'Ma, I’ve been shot in my ankle,'" mother Taraneisha Jackson said. "I’m just devastated."
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One shopper said she also dodged the gunfire.
"Blood was just rushing out his feet so fast," Katrina Hamilton said. "He was bleeding very, very bad."
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Hamilton, a nurse, said she used a shirt to control the bleeding. A bullet also blasted through her car.
"That’s from him just shooting around like a maniac," she said. "I guess I rather have a bullet hole shot than a bullet in me, so I thank God."
Chopper 6 was overhead as the child was wheeled into the Trauma Center of Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, appearing alert and relatively calm.
Officers told NBC6 that the child was shot in the ankle and the injury was life-threatening. He was out of the hospital by the late afternoon.
“He’s in pretty good spirits, he’s in pain, I gave him his medication and we are trying to keep his spirits up with family and everything," Jackson said.
She focused on what a stranger did for her child.
“I was a wreck, but you stepped in and you did your job as a nurse, and I want to say thank you," she said.
Police said three vehicles were involved in the incident and one of the drivers has since returned to the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.
“Just senseless gun violence over a parking spot nobody is supposed to be in — it’s a fire lane," Hamilton said.
The shooting is under investigation and anyone with information was asked to call the police department at 954-497-4700 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 (TIPS).
