'Something has to happen:' Mother speaks out after 11-year-old son shot standing on porch in Tampa
TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa police are searching for the person they say shot an 11-year-old boy on Sunday night.
A boy was standing on his front porch around 10:17 p.m. at the C. Blythe Andrews Apartments in East Tampa on Sunday night when he was shot by an unknown suspect, according to the Tampa Police Department.
"I don’t know who shot my son, I don’t know if it was targeted, just a lot goes on over here and I’m really scared. We’re afraid," said the boy’s mother, who asked us to conceal her identity because of fear for her safety.
The boy was taken to the hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
She says they were watching the Super Bowl, then shortly after the game ended, she went to the back of her home and her son was out on the front porch. Minutes later, she heard what she describes as one loud 'pop.'
"I see him run through the door and he’s bleeding. It didn’t immediately register to me that I heard a loud bang and my son would be shot," his mother said. "He’s 11 years old."
She says her son was shot in the arm and the bullet went out of his back.
"He’s blessed to be alive because it could’ve been way worse, it could’ve hit him anywhere and we don’t have any information."
She says her son, who is in fifth grade, is a fighter. After spending two nights in the hospital, he insisted on going back to school.
"He said he had a test, and he wanted to….I let him. Normalcy is good. I had a conversation with the school, but, today (Wednesday) he just couldn’t."
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While he’s at home recovering, his mother says she is fed up with the violence in east Tampa. She says her apartment complex installed cameras, but there aren’t enough, or trees block them.
She says the detectives are being vigilant on her son’s case but says more needs to be done to make the community safer.
"What’s next, what’s next? Something has to happen."
TPD is asking anyone with information that could assist detectives to contact them directly or CrimeStoppers at 800-873-TIPS (8477).
"Our thoughts are with this family as this senseless act has left an innocent child in our community injured," said Chief Lee Bercaw. "Our officers are committed to identifying the person responsible and holding this individual accountable. I believe that with the assistance of our community, we can bring this family the justice they deserve."