LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - Rescue crews took a man to the hospital after a stray bullet hit him in Lauderhill.
Lauderhill Police and Fire Rescue responded to the scene outside an apartment complex near Northwest 27th Avenue and 54th Street, Thursday night.
Police said someone was firing off a gun to celebrate the Fourth of July when a stray bullet fell from the sky and hit Thomas Glasco in the leg.
“That’s crazy. I got a family,” Glasco said. “What if it hit one of my daughters and my wife?”
Glasco, who is in his 20s, said he was lighting fireworks with his family at the time.
“I was doing all the fireworks, lighting them for my kids,” he said. “They were running back and forth, seeing the stuff go up in the air.”
Chakara Glasco, the victim’s wife, said Thomas suddenly started wobbling and fell to the ground.
“We were popping fireworks right there, and then a bullet came on my dad’s leg,” said 4-year-old Taraji Glasco, the victim’s daughter. “My dad started rolling right on the grass, and I saw blood on him.”
“After I saw the blood dripping, that’s when I told my mom it was for real,” added Jhakara Glasco, the victim’s daughter.
The stray bullet struck the victim’s thigh just above the knee and lodged there.
The family said they didn’t know if someone was shooting, so another adult rushed the children inside the home.
“I was crying, and my sister told me to be strong,” said Taraji.
Chakara, who is six months pregnant, said she also took cover.
“I didn’t want stand up in the open,” she said.
Rescue crews eventually transported the victim to Broward Health Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Thomas is now left with weeks of recovery ahead of him while the bullet remains lodged in his leg.
“It makes no sense. Ain’t nobody in the air but God. Who you trying to shoot at? That’s crazy,” he said. “Now it’s put me out of work. How am I supposed to provide for my family? I’m going to be out of work for about two weeks, two or three weeks probably. Ain’t no telling how long.”
He has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
“Devastated. I just thank God that it didn’t hit my kids or my wife,” Thomas said, “so I’ll take that. Thank God it was just me and not one of them.”
It remains unknown who fired the bullet that struck him.
Authorities across South Florida spent the days leading up to Fourth of July urging people to not shoot into the air.
Click here to donate to the Glasco family’s GoFundMe campaign.
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