A family member describes a terrifying scene as an 8-year-old boy is shot in Spring Valley, in what could be a case of mistaken identity.
Deputies say 20-30 rounds were fired in the Villas at Casa de Oro apartment complex at 3851 Helix St. around 4:30 a.m. Friday, deputies said. One of them hit the little boy in the foot.
The victim’s uncle, Conny Grigsby, says the suspects knocked on the door of the boy’s home.
A family member opened the door and one of the suspects asked to talk to “Mike.” The victim’s uncle says no one called Mike lives at the home.
Grigsby described what his relative told him happened next.
"The guy reached behind his back and he shut the door. He said he dived in front of the couch and the guy just started opening fire into the living room."
One of the bullets went though a wall, into the top of his nephew’s foot and came out the other side.
Neighbors were jolted out of bed by the sound of gunfire.
"Boom, boom, boom, immediately my heart jumped to my chest and I immediately went over to my daughter and held her while she was asleep," neighbor Tonisha Laster said.
“It was so scary,” neighbor and family friend Jeffrey Scott said. “I've never heard that much gunfire that close."
Scott awoke to the sound of the rapid gunfire and called 911. He rushed outside and was met by deputies with their guns drawn.
He told them “I live here,” and realized he was standing on shell casings. He looked up and saw several bullet holes through his neighbor’s door.
The family does not understand why they were targeted, but thinks it could be a case of mistaken identity.
The boy has been released from the hospital and his family says he’s going to be okay, according to Grigsby.
Deputies describe the suspects as juveniles carrying a pistol and an assault rifle. They were last seen running from the apartment complex, getting in a car and driving southbound on Helix St.
