Update (10:40 p.m.) — A 9-year-old girl is fighting for her life after being caught in the middle of gunfire in her Prince William County neighborhood.
Surveillance video caught the incident and shows more of what happened, and how the young children in the neighborhood recognized that something was off. When watching, you hear the children say to one another, “Who are they?” “A bad guy! Remember?”
The exchange between the children happens as four men dressed in all black walk down the sidewalk. Shortly after, a car drives by turns around and then backs into a parking spot before pulling away. Prince William County Chief Peter Newsham said one of the four men shot at the car, and a stray bullet hit the little girl. He said, “Her injuries are very, very serious. She’s in the Intensive Care Unit in one of our hospitals, and we are just praying and hoping she will make a full recovery.”
The girl was airlifted to a local hospital. Chief Newsham met with her mother on Wednesday afternoon and said, “After meeting with her mom, how devastating this is to her. Her mom believes she has some fault here if you can believe that. Nothing could be further from the truth. She’s a good mom. She takes care of her kids and the one person to blame in this scenario is the one person who thought it was ok to pull the trigger in our community.”
Detectives are actively investigating. Chief Newsham had a message for the shooter. He said, “You put this family in a really bad place. You should have the courage to turn yourself in.”
WOODBRIDGE, Va. (WDVM) — A 9-year-old girl was left in critical condition after a shooting that took place in the 15300 block of Gatehouse Ter. in Woodbridge on Tuesday evening.
Around 6:40 p.m., Prince William County Police Officers responded to the area to investigate a shooting with injuries. They found a 9-year-old girl suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she remains in critical condition, according to police.
The investigation shows a group of possible teenage boys were in an area when one started to fire multiple rounds. Detectives have determined that the 9-year-old girl was not the intended target of the shooting.
Shots also struck an occupied car driving in the area and a front door of a home.
There were no additional victims reported.
Detectives are investigating what led up to the shooting.
At this time the suspects are described as black teenage males wearing dark clothing, according to PWC PD.
There appears to be no active threat to the community, as police say the incident was not random.
Stick with WDVM 25 for the latest developments.