‘She’s in her third surgery’: Ride of Tears CEO provides update on 9-year-old girl shot in mom’s car

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - After a nine-year-old girl was shot Thursday night, the CEO and founder of Ride of Tears, a group that honors child victims of gun violence, said she’s overwhelmed with the number of children in Memphis who are senselessly shot.

“I talked to the grandmother of the nine-year-old. They are so upset,” said Mary Trice. “Right now, I think they’re not mad at the person shooting right now, they are upset because now we’re fighting for a baby’s life.”

Memphis police said the shooting happened on North Hollywood Street.

The child’s mother drove them to Fire Station 19 on Chelsea Avenue for help. That’s where Memphis police met them around 7:08 p.m.

She was then rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Police say the suspects left the scene in a white Infiniti.

“She got shot four times, she’s into her third surgery. The bullet hit her main artery; this is a child that we’re talking about, not an adult,” said Trice.

Trice said she hopes the suspects responsible for this senseless shooting get punished to the fullest extent of the law.

“How do you think those kids at school felt today, that the nine-year-old wasn’t there? How do you think they feel, knowing that she’s nine years old and she belonged in class this morning,” said Trice. “She’s laid up in her third surgery and she’s not there with the other children that are looking for her. This is what hurts, that we hurt other children.”

Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital says it has treated more than 29 patients under the age of 10 for gunshot wounds so far this year.

If you have any information that could help police find the suspects in last night’s shooting, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

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