9 year old struck by stray bullet as she slept in Warren undergoes surgery
A nine year old girl is recovering Sunday afternoon after a stray bullet came through the walls of her Kenilworth Avenue SE home in Warren.
At 10am Sunday morning, the girl went into surgery at Akron Children's hospital to fix damage to her arm and remove the bullet. After several hours of surgery, the bullet was successfully removed.
The girl's mother, Misti Taylor, tells 21 News that her daughter is now out of surgery and recovering.
Taylor says they first heard gun shots at around 12:25am on Sunday. The rest of the family dropped to the floor, but her daughter was asleep on the couch at the time, and was struck by a stray bullet.
The gunfire came from across the street from the Big Apple Supermarket parking lot on Youngstown-Warren Road.
A video, posted to Facebook early Sunday morning, shows the scene along Youngstown-Warren Rd. Roughly a half dozen police cruisers can be seen in the video, in the parking lot of the Big Apple Supermarket and across the street on Kenilworth Ave SE.
When she saw her daughter had been hit, Taylor called 911 saying she needed an ambulance because her baby had been shot.
Taylor's mom tells us her 9 year old daughter attends the STEM Academy in Warren and that she is a straight A honor roll student.
The family had planned on going to the zoo and a family cookout today to celebrate Father's Day, but instead, they've spent the holiday in the waiting room in fear for their daughter's life.
Taylor tells us her daughter is in pain and scared to return to their home. Her other children, a 15 year old daughter and 17 year old son, are also reportedly shaken from the incident, and fearful about the safety in their neighborhood.
Taylor says that she's tired of the violence, and wants Warren officials to put a plan in place to address the crime.
A friend of the family, Sharon Caspary Cook, has started a GoFundMe to support Taylor, who says she won't be able to go to work as she cares for her daughter and will likely lose her job.
Warren's Safety Service Director Eddie Colbert tells WFMJ News law directors say it's can't regulate hours a business stays open.
Colbert tells WFMJ News the city will be looking at all options to reduce crime and help bring justice to the young girl and her family.
It is unclear whether a suspect has been identified at this time, and nobody has been booked into the Trumbull county jail on firearms charges as of 1:30 Sunday.
Continue to check back for updates on WFMJ.com.