Florida authorities say a child may have been critically wounded as a result of celebratory gunfire shot into the air miles away on New Year’s eve.
At 1 a.m., Diego Duran, 12, who was with his family outside their Ruskin home admiring a fireworks display, suddenly dropped to the ground bleeding from his nose and eyes, Sandy Duran, his mother, told authorities.
Without successfully determining the cause of the injury, the family rushed the injured boy to South Bay Hospital and doctors determined that a bullet had entered the top of his head. He was then moved to Tampa Bay General Hospital where he remains in critical condition with the bullet still in his head.
There were no reports of gunfire nearby, and detectives believe the boy was hit by gunfire falling from the sky fired from a distance of up to miles away.
Sandy Duran, the boy’s mother, told Cfnews13.com that her son is moving his arms and legs and seems to be responding to people.
"It feels like witnessing a miracle,” she told the station. “It really does, considering the trajectory of the bullet. It's miraculous.”
Authorities in the area are trying to determine who pulled the trigger by questioning people in the surrounding area, and said if the individual is caught, he would face serious charges.
“It is a crime,” Larry McKinnon, the spokesman from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, told WTSP.com. “It is an irresponsible act, and if we find out who did that, the consequences are going to be some very serious felony charges.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
