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Police believe 9-year-old caught in gunfire during road rage incident
A nine-year-old girl was hit by a bullet while walking with her mother on Wickersham Lane.
AUSTIN, Texas - It was a Monday afternoon at the Ballpark North Apartments when a nine-year-old girl was hit by a bullet while walking with her mother.
"We were at the basketball court, just me and a couple of my friends, and we heard some shots," said Clifford, a resident of Ballpark North. "It was kind of surreal."
Clifford said they heard someone yelling for help in front of the leasing office, not far from the basketball courts. "We all ran around, and there was this girl on the ground with, I guess, her mother on top of her just like, screaming for help," he said.
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Clifford said he and his friends called 9-1-1, and police arrived shortly after.
According to an arrest affidavit from APD, just prior to the reported shooting, two adults were driving in a Ford Expedition when a dark green Jeep pulled in front of him. The driver of the SUV then parked at the Collective on Riverside apartments on Wickersham Lane, and the driver of the Jeep pulled up next to him and his female passenger.
According to the police report, they exchanged words, and then the driver of the SUV tried to drive away. He heard gunshots as he was leaving.
Police believe one of the bullets hit the back of the SUV, while another hit the nine-year-old girl who was down the street at the Ballpark North Apartments.
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After receiving a vehicle description and description of the subject, police were able to find and arrest Lamichael Stewart, 23, at the apartments on Wickersham Lane later that night.
Stewart told police that the driver of the Jeep was driving too fast and almost hit his vehicle. Stewart is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The girl, who has not been identified, was sent to the hospital for surgery. Her condition on Wednesday was unknown.
"To be nine years old and to get shot, on a Monday afternoon, that’s bizarre," said Clifford. "I’ve never seen anything like that before."