Police need people to come forward with information about child shot

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Chattanooga Police say they need the public’s help finding the person who shot a child early Sunday morning.

It is all quiet on Doolittle Street now, but early Sunday morning police say a disorder between twenty to thirty people broke out and a 9-year-old girl was shot in the abdomen. She was taken to a hospital with critical, but non life threatening injuries.

“What we would say is the fact of the preliminary information we got in and the fact that she is nine years old she was not the intended target of this incident. She caught a stray bullet,” said Sergeant Adam Emery, with the Chattanooga Police Department.

Investigators say it was ongoing dispute between several people who knew each other.

“The fact that someone would introduce a handgun into an argument and hit a little girl. I don’t see how it won’t change her life, forever to hold those people accountable,” Sergeant Emery said.

He wants people who know information to come forward.

“We are looking for those people that will help the other ones stand up together as a community because we want to stand with you as a community and arrest the individual that shot this nine year old girl,”

This situation hits home.

“I actually have a nine year old at home with me. They should be able to enjoy their summer, have fun, be able to play outside,” Sergeant Emery said.

They won’t stop until an arrest is made.

“We will investigate any crime of violence, but we will definitely give special attention when it is a child that is hit by gunfire. We are here to plead with the public. We know that numerous people were out there. People witnessed this and people know who the shooter is,” Sergeant Emery said.

If you have any information, you are asked to call Chattanooga Police at 423-698-2525. You can also submit an anonymous tip through CPD’s mobile app.