ALLENTOWN—A 10-year-old boy was shot in the leg by a stray bullet on Saturday, July 27, while on the field at an eastern Pennsylvania baseball park, authorities said.
The boy was in right field shortly before the IronPigs evening game at Coca-Cola Park when he fell to the ground.
It wasn’t until the boy received an X-ray at a hospital that it was determined he had been shot, police said.
“The police officers we were speaking to last night felt pretty confident, with 99% certainty, that someone shot into the air and it was just the horrible misfortune that it landed where it did,” IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes told the Morning Call.
No gunshots were heard in the area and there’s no indication that the shot came from within the park, police said.
The X-ray revealed that the boy had a bullet lodged in the back of the knee. He was taken to the trauma unit with an injury not considered life-threatening.
“His mother has been very gracious and appreciative of our contact, and I think she’s understandably frustrated with someone shooting a gun in the air,” Landes said.
The boy and other children were on the field for a promotional event for the IronPigs’ Harry Potter Night when he was struck.
Allentown police said they are still investigating where the bullet came from.
IronPigs co-owner Joe Finley, who was at Saturday’s game, told the newspaper that “the most important thing is the young boy is doing well.”
“It came at an 80-degree angle, came from high up in the air,” he said. “That’s why they say don’t fire guns into the air. Those bullets have to come down somewhere.”
Stray Bullet May Leave 11-Year-Old Boy Paralyzed
In a similar story last month, an 11-year-old boy was wounded by a stray bullet in New York on June 20, the boy complained he can’t feel his legs, his grandmother said, fearing he may have been left paralyzed.
Brooklyn boy Jayden Grant, 11, was injured along with a 31-year-old man, by a gunman who was targeting another individual, reported ABC 7.
According to reports, the gunman allegedly missed his intended target, who was around 50 feet away when he opened fire around 7 p.m. on Schenectady Avenue in Crown Heights.
Speaking to ABC 7, the boy’s grandmother, Bessie Watson-Grant, 53, said Jayden suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and remains in ICU, with the bullet lodged in his back’s soft tissue, but added that he is alert and talking.
The night before his 5th-grade graduation, Jayden Grant, the student of a dear friend, was getting his haircut for the ceremony when he was shot on his Brooklyn block. Please say a prayer for him, and if you are able, support his recovery via @gofundme https://t.co/3tTWuVbvhy
— Rachel Van Brocklin (@rachvanbrocklin) 23 June 2019
Due to swelling from the bullet hitting his spine, it is still too soon for doctors to pinpoint whether Jayden will suffer from long-term damage, Watson-Grant said.
However, she explained that her grandson complained he couldn’t feel his legs.
“He not out of the woods yet, but he’s making strides to come out of the woods,” she said. “Right now, he has no lower body sensation. He said, ‘Grandma, why can’t I feel my legs?’”
The second victim of the shooting, aged 31, was wounded in the left knee.
Police officers have arrested a 27-year-old man named Angel Eaddy in connection with the incident.
The incident comes as Brooklyn has seen a spike in murder cases this year, with a recorded 28 homicides within the first three months of 2019—an increase of 64 percent from 17 cases recorded in the same period last year—The New York Times reported.
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A reminder that while @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio is running away from the city, we’re battling serious crime issues in Brooklyn.
In the 79 Pct. murders ARE UP 75%
Shooting victims ARE UP 100%
Shooting Incidents ARE UP 80% https://t.co/8wtpOg5yRy— NYC PBA (@NYCPBA) 24 June 2019
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Chief Terence A. Monahan told The Times the recent wave of shootings appears to be linked to members of street gangs.
“They’re gang-related shootings, and it’s the same related individuals who are showing up,” said Monahan.
A fundraiser titled “Hope and Healing for Jayden Grant” launched by the boy’s school has gone viral and raised over $33,000 at the time of writing.
“The night before his fifth grade graduation, 11-year-old Jayden Grant was getting his haircut for the ceremony when he was shot by a gunman who opened fire on his Brooklyn block. He was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and remains seriously injured,” the fundraiser reads.
“As he faces a long and challenging recovery ahead, we want to come together as a school community to support him and his family with whatever they need.”
Epoch Times reporter Isabel Van Brugen contributed to this report.