A 3-year-old girl remained hospitalized Monday after being shot while sitting in the backseat of her parents’ car in Santa Ana, but police said she is expected to survive.
The shooting occurred about 8 p.m. Sunday around 15th and Spurgeon streets, according to Santa Ana police Officer Natalie Garcia.
Police said the family was driving through the area when bullets passed through the trunk of the white Nissan Altima and struck the girl, who was strapped into a car seat in the backseat. Her 4-year-old sister was next to her in the car but uninjured.
When the parents realized the girl had been shot, they took her to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where she underwent surgery but was expected to survive. Police said she was in critical but stable condition.
Police initially responded to the hospital, then were able to locate the crime scene.
“Fortunately, the child is expected to survive, however, we’re asking for the public’s help,” Garcia said.
She asked anyone with information to contact police at 714-245-8665
News video from the scene showed investigators examining the family’s car parked outside the hospital, with bullet holes visible in the back of the vehicle. Police also closed off the intersection where the shooting occurred.
There was no immediate information on what may have prompted the shooting, or whether the family was specifically targeted or just in the wrong place at the wrong time.