From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
HOOVER –A 12-year-old girl, who police described as an innocent bystander, was shot in the back during an incident at the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover that left another man wounded and the alleged suspect dead after police engaged and shot him.
Julie Bennett, the young girl’s mother, posted on social media that her daughter is in a lot of pain from the bullet wound and subsequent surgery, but remains “brave and positive.”
Bennett said her daughter did not immediately realize that she had been shot, complaining a few minutes later that her back hurt.
Related story: 3 people shot at Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, gunman dead
A military medic and a nurse on the scene immediately rendered aid to the child until paramedics could arrive. Employees of a nearby store provided a shirt for the medic to use to apply pressure to the wound. Bennett praised their effort and expressed her gratitude for all who assisted.
She said she was able to make it to Children’s of Alabama just ahead of the ambulance and had a short time to visit with her daughter before doctors took her back to begin their work on the child.
According to Bennett, the bullet lodged very close to her daughter’s spine, but an examination revealed no damage to her internal organs. Her daughter is recovering from her wound.