6-year-old boy survives being shot in chest, just missing heart, in Yonkers
YONKERS, New York (WABC) -- A 6-year-old boy is recovering Friday after miraculously surviving a gunshot wound to the chest.
The boy was struck by a stray bullet as he answered the front door of his Ash Street home in Yonkers just after 6 p.m.
He was not the intended target, police say, but was struck by a stray bullet from a nearby gun battle involving several juveniles.
He was hit just below his heart, but luckily, firefighters from Engine 206 right across the street were returning from a call and immediately began rendering aid.
"The boy is very tough," Yonkers Fire Department Lieutenant Marek Pawelec said. "It's amazing, considering what happened to him and how he was. At that point, we made sure, he needed medical attention as soon as possible."
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Those involved in the gunfight scattered, and three people all under the age of 18 were later taken into custody at separate locations. Officials said they recovered two handguns at the scene.
The boy remains at Jacobi Hospital in serious but stable condition.
Charges are pending against the suspects.
Yonkers officials say they have seen an increase in gun violence, with juveniles responsible for it.
"I think if we really want to get violence down to where it's a real manageable level, and obviously we would love to get it to zero, but the world is the world and that's never going to happen," Police Commissioner John Mueller said. "But we can get it down to as manageable as we can, and that's something we all have to do. We all have to work together. We need parental groups working, we need clergy, we need community."
Police have not yet determined the nature of the dispute that led to the gun battle.
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