MESQUITE, Texas — A Texas toddler was hospitalized after being shot in the head in an apparent drive-by shooting on Sunday, authorities said.

>> Read more trending news

According to the Mesquite Police Department, the 1-year-old child was injured shortly after 7 p.m. CST, The Dallas Morning News reported. His 28-year-old father was also injured in the shooting, according to the newspaper.

Maria Arellano told KXAS-TV that her son was visiting her home in Mesquite and was feeding the toddler at the dining room table when shots rang out.

“We heard a loud boom. But I thought it was because being Dec. 31, people are notorious for fireworks,” Arellano told the television station. “Then, boom, boom, boom. And then my son is like, ‘They’re shooting.’”

Police said the bullet grazed the father’s neck and then struck the back of the boy’s head before ricocheting away, KFDW-TV reported.

Police said the child suffered a “minor wound” to the head and his father had a “minor cut” on his neck, according to the Morning News.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Mesquite police Lt. Brandon Ricketts told reporters.

“Then they started screaming, ‘The baby’s bleeding. The baby’s bleeding,’” Arellano told KXAS. “So, I grabbed a towel to put pressure on it. And I was just going crazy because I didn’t know if (it was) my son or my grandson.”

Investigators found nine shell casings from the area, Ricketts told reporters. The exact target and the motive of the shooting were unclear, according to the Morning News.

Both the boy and his father are expected to survive, KXAS reported.

Arellano said her son has been discharged from an area hospital, but her grandson remains hospitalized at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas for minor bruising on his head.

“My son didn’t require any stitches. By the grace of God, he’s alive. He is OK,” Arellano told the television station. My grandson, on the other hand … they ended up doing the surgical stitches. And he’s OK now, but obviously he’s very, very upset. He wants to hold his mom, and he wakes up crying because of everything that happened.”

An investigation is ongoing, police said.

© 2024 Cox Media Group