WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Police in Winston-Salem said an 8-year-old child was lucky to have received only minor injuries when someone apparently fired a gun into the air.
Alondra Delgado was playing in the with her cousins in the backyard of her aunt's house.
"I just saw something went just flying there and I just saw a quick flash," said Alondra.
The incident, which is still under investigation, happened Saturday afternoon around 5.45 p.m. in the 2800 block of Patria Street.
"I thought it was something big that just hit the top of my head but it was something else, something small," added Alondra.
Officers say the child was hit in the head by a "falling projectile." The 'projectile' which was identified as a bullet, fell through a canopy covering a backyard swimming pool, where the 8-year-old was playing.
"I just saw blood pouring on and I just had a puddle of blood in my hands and it as a really hard moment for me," reflected the 8 year-old Alondra.
"I thought she was dying, no parent wants to go through that,' said Filiberto Delgado, Alondra's dad who rushed her to the hospital. Alondra received liquid stitches and is nursing her wound.
Police haven't determined where the shot was fired from or who fired it into the air. There were no reports of discharging of firearms calls, in that area, when they were dispatched to this call, police say.
Projectiles can travel varying distances when fired up in the air and the child was struck when that projectile fell back to earth, investigators warn.
Winston-Salem Police Department is using this as a teachable moment and opportunity to remind everyone of the law when it comes to discharging a firearm in city limits. City Code 38-10 (b) states: that Wantonly discharging a firearm in the city limits is illegal. Police added that it is also very dangerous.
"Just try to be careful what you do, think before you do something," concluded Alondra.
Anyone with information about this incident, or who may have heard gunshots in the area of Patria Street between 5:45 and 5:50 pm on Saturday, July 14, or the surrounding area, contact Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800.
WFMY News 2 will update this story as more information is released.
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