A woman and her toddler were shot late Monday night in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, and the search is on for the shooter, who's still at large.
The child had life-threatening injuries while his mother was expected to survive, police said. The mother's own mother, Fatima de Pina, told NBC10 Boston that the 2-year-old should also survive, by some miracle, despite being shot in the head.
"My grandson, thank you God, is doing better. He's a strong baby," she said.
Boston police said they were called to the intersection of Ames and Stratton streets, near Harambee Park, about 11:39 p.m. for 911 calls of a baby shot. Officers found a woman and a baby, as they characterized the child, with gunshot wounds in a driveway.
"This is a pretty heinous act in general, pretty cowardly," Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said early Tuesday. "I can't think of any reason why somebody would shoot both a female and a young child for any reason, so we really need the public's help and support on this one."
At an unrelated news conference Tuesday morning, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was asked about the shooting, saying, "There's no possible reason for violence in our city, especially when it comes to young people and our very young children, so I'm horrified to have heard of the news."
"I know the police department is working their investigation… continuing to ask for the public's help and support," the mayor added, noting there will be community members impacted by this, and family members that have to live with trauma. "I'm very thankful that first responders were there quickly... We're pushing out every resource that we can to make sure that there's accountability in this case."
De Fina said her daughter had just gotten back from visiting friends and was holding her son in her arms when they were shot.
She said Tuesday afternoon after returning from the hospital that the shooting happened so quickly and nobody knew who was responsible, but she insisted that God would "do justice for my family."
A neighbor, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, said they saw police swarm their home after gunshots rang out: "When I heard the shots I just kneeled down and prayed for them."
Police spent the night canvassing the area and had yet to announce any arrests as of Tuesday evening. The police commissioner said they're doing all they can in their investigation, and asked anyone with information to call investigators at 617-343-4470.
