HOLLYWOOD, FLA. (WSVN) - A 15-year-old girl is recalling the moment, police said, she was accidentally shot while riding in the back seat of Uber in Hollywood.
Bailey Braun and Alcy Zaldivar, her boyfriend, were in the Uber on their way to Aventura on Sunday when the shooting occurred.
“It was just really scary, and it hurt a lot — but mostly scary,” Braun said. “I asked. I was like, ‘What’s happening? What’s happening?’ And he said, ‘I didn’t know. I’m sorry it went off.'”
The 15-year-old said the shooting happened when the driver, later identified as Adrian Harper, stopped to pick up another couple on Hollywood Boulevard just west of Interstate 95.
“We turned around to go look and see what was going on since they were recording each other, and as soon as we did, we were laughing about it, and we just heard a bang,” Braun said.
Somehow, Harper’s gun — which is against Uber policy for drivers to carry — fired. Police said he was moving the gun to make room for the other passengers when it went off.
“Our ears started ringing,” Braun said. “I think something exploded in the car. I didn’t feel anything yet, and when I go to get out, I lift up my leg, and I just see blood pouring out.”
One of the other riders took photographs at the scene.
Surveillance cameras captured Ebony Collins running to a nearby Hollywood Police station for help.
“People that’s taking Ubers need to be protected fully,” Collins said.
Braun was rushed to the hospital, and it is too early to know the extent of the damage to her foot.
Meanwhile, the Harper faces a misdemeanor charge of negligence and was given a citation.
“I definitely think he shouldn’t just get a slap on the wrist,” Zaldivar said. “It’s not like a cut or she fell. To say you got shot, I mean, it’s pretty traumatizing.”
Police said Harper will soon appear in court.
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