5-year-old girl shot by stray bullet in Newark shooting recovering

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Thursday, July 12, 2018
5-year-old girl shot by stray bullet in Newark shooting recovering
Anthony Johnson reports on the 5-year-old who was shot by a stray bullet in Newark.

NEWARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- A 5-year-old girl who was shot by a stray bullet on the 4th of July in Newark is making progress on her road to recovery.

Liya Williams will spend most of the summer in a wheelchair after the terrifying incident left her with a bullet still lodged in her thigh.

Her family continues to take care of her needs as they try to come to terms with the shooting.

She was with her father and several other family members walking home when they thought they heard firecrackers. When the little girl cried out in pain, her family knew it was gunfire and they rushed her to the hospital.

Authorities say the gunshot was fired from a car that drove past the corner of Treacy and Avon avenues -- and Liya was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now family members are demanding answers.

"When I heard this, it broke my heart - angry, mad, sad, upset, everything," her grandmother Donna Coon said Thursday. "And it's not right, it's not."

The little girl's parents said they didn't want to comment on the case until there is a person behind bars for the shooting.

Coon said it isn't fair that the kids can't go anywhere without getting hurt and she worries about the children every day.

The little girl still has a long road ahead of her. It will be months before she can walk on her own -- she will go through physical therapy and will see a bone specialist to determine what can be done about the bullet still lodged in her leg.

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