TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Tampa toddler has been shot in a spray of gunfire.
Tampa Police say the girl’s father was outside his home just after 12 p.m. Wednesday when he was approached by several men who were acting in a threatening way. Eduardo Avila, 24, then went inside the home and that’s when the men began shooting.
Authorities said more than 15 shots were fired. The 21-month-old girl was shot in her right thigh. The Tampa Bay Times reports she was inside the home with her mother and another child when she was hit. The toddler was rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The family lives in a public housing complex where neighbors and family members say gangs and violence are common.
“It is pure daylight, and a child has been shot and it is sad,” Reva Iman, the resident council representative to the Tampa Housing Authority, said to Fox 13. “A lot of residents fear for their safety here. They hate to call the police, they hate to go to the front office, because they fear retaliation against them.”
Police are still investigating and no suspects have been named.
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