WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A 9-year-old girl is recovering in the hospital after she was hit by a bullet from a drive-by shooting Saturday night. She was inside her family's home in West Valley City when she was struck.
A family member, who told FOX 13 she didn't want her identity revealed, says Berlin Rodriguez was in the kitchen with her mother while she was cooking when it happened.
"I still can't believe it. Why would anyone do this?" she said.
Police say the shooting happened just before 9 p.m. Saturday in the 1500 block of West Calvo.
"I believe they said there were eight shots," the family member said.
One of those shots struck Berlin.
"It went through her arm and went out on her side," she said.
James Tipton lives across the street. When he heard the gunshots, he says he immediately went over to help.
"I grabbed a towel that was on the porch, so they could have something to put compression on the wound," said Tipton. "When you see a child get shot, I don’t care who you are — it’s very heartbreaking, especially when it’s this close to home, right in your community, right across the street from your own house."
The family tells FOX 13 they don't believe this was a random act of violence.
"They knew, they had to plan this, it was no accident, they came and they came to do harm," she said.
However, they are thankful that it wasn't much worse.
"I just thank God she is okay, that it didn’t hit anyone else," the relative said.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call West Valley City Police at (801)-840-4000.
