Mobile Police in Alabama said a five-year-old girl was shot in the neck Tuesday shortly after a woman visiting a home opened fire when she was asked to leave.
Police Chief Lawrence Battiste said 29-year-old Tronisha Ellis fired at least three shots, one of them striking 5-year-old Zedaya Cook in the neck. The child was rushed to the hospital for treatment and is expected to survive.
Two other children were in the home at the time of the shooting as well as their father.
Police say Ellis fired one shot in the direction of the other child in the home and another in the direction of the father.
Ellis is currently in custody on three counts of attempted murder.
According to Battiste, Ellis has mental health problems and recently served time after pleading guilty to attempted arson in 2018.
“It appears that Ms. Ellis has mental issues that in absence of her being someplace they can assure she is taking her medication and doing the things she needs to be doing, we’re going to have repeat incidents of this occur with somebody in her state,” Battiste said.
This shooting comes three days after another five-year-old was shot in Mobile. On Saturday, Demarcus Austin Jr. was the innocent victim of a callous shooting, allegedly at the hands of 21-year-old Reginald Pryor. Little Demarcus was the only one hurt after more than a dozen shots were fired at a car as he sat inside with his family on Farnell Drive. He’s hospitalized in critical condition.
“I am frustrated. No child should ever have to be the victim of a gunshot. And particularly if it’s, you know when we’re dealing with a situation where people that gain access to weapons probably should not have access to,” Battiste said.
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