ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A 3-year-old girl is recovering after she was shot while sitting in her car seat in Orange County earlier this week.
Deputies at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office had responded to the shooting Tuesday around 5:25 p.m. after gunfire rang out near S Texas Avenue and Americana Boulevard, but do not believe the girl was the intended target.
Now that the toddler is back home and healing, News 6 spoke with her father Friday about the terrifying moment.
“It’s traumatic knowing your daughter got shot,” Thomas Banks said. “I wish no one would have to experience that, because there were a lot of thoughts going through my mind when I was going to the hospital.”
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Banks said he was at work Tuesday when he got the call telling him his daughter was hurt. He said her mother had just picked her up from daycare.
“She got home and was pulling in and out of nowhere there was gunfire,” Banks said.
He said his family was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a single bullet hit their car. Banks said he believes whoever was firing rounds was “shooting just to shoot.”
“There’s a lot of violence around in this area. You can’t really do much about it,” Banks said. “Just praying and hoping we are protected. Thank God she’s still here.”
No arrests have been made in the case and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has not released any information about a possible suspected shooter.
When News 6 checked in with the sheriff’s office on Friday, a spokesperson said detectives are continuing to work all leads and they are not able to say anything else at this point.
In the meantime, Banks said his daughter has a broken arm from where the bullet hit her. She will be in a cast for a few weeks as she recovers.
“She’s down bad for a while mobile-wise, but other than that she’s good,” Banks said. “She’s got a brother and a sister, that’s why it’s important that God kept her here with us. I thank Him for that.”
Banks believes his daughter will be OK, but he hopes whoever hurt her will get caught.
“I want them off the street,” Banks said. “They’re out here hurting people, innocent people just living their normal lives and just like that it could be (taken) away.”
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