Shanita Rhodes and her friends were playing outside their apartment complex on Poole Road on Friday night when they heard gunfire. Rhodes was caught in the crossfire, and a stray bullet lodged in her knee. Now, her family and friends are afraid to live in what they thought was a safe community.
Rhodes, who is 12 years old, is on crutches, knee wrapped in bandages, and wearing a hospital I.D. bracelet around her wrist.
"All of a sudden, bullets just started flying everywhere. I ducked under the porch and I noticed my leg was bleeding and I just saw the bullet," said Rhodes.
The bullet was lodged in Rhodes' knee.
"Would I live?" she wondered.
Doctors say Rhodes is going to be fine. The bullet did not cause any permanent damage. But it did steal peace of mind from Rhodes' family and neighbors.
"I was sad. I was terrified. It's a bad feeling to see your child get shot like that," said Stella Fowler, Rhodes' mother.
Fowler and a couple of other parents were outside with the kids when the gunfire broke out. The chaos started when a man came crashing through a second story window, and landed on the air conditioning unit below.
Witnesses say about six young men came running through the parking lot, firing guns. They took off in two cars.
Witnesses do not think any of the men live at the complex, but they no longer feel safe in their homes, and neither do their children.
"I know my 4-year-old keeps talking about it. It's going to be in their minds for a long time," said neighbor Fredrena Spence.
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