Tragedy has struck a family in Irvington, N.J., as a toddler was struck and killed by a stray bullet on Saturday.
Irvington toddler killed by stray bullet
As 15-month old Sania Cunningham bounced on a bed in her parents’ second-floor apartment in Irvington on Saturday afternoon, gunfire erupted on Ellis Avenue, a troubled city block to which the family had moved just days before.
Bullets tore through the neighborhood in what neighbors describe as a chaotic shootout, according to NJ.com. During the shootout, a bullet pierced through a wall where little Cunningham was playing, struck the child in the upper torso and killed her.
Investigation
Authorities say no suspects have been arrested. However, according to NJ.com, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said police are searching for three men in connection with the toddler’s death. The men, Murray said, were wearing hoods as they walked up Ellis Avenue on Saturday, spraying bullets as they went. Investigators are trying to determine who was the target of the shooting.
“The victim here was an unintended victim, obviously,” Murray said. “This child was shot once while bouncing on a bed in a bedroom with both of her parents present.”
The child’s parents rushed her to Newark Beth Israel Hospital after the shooting at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to officials. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Photo Source : NJ.com
