’Daddy I’m hurt’: Guard’s bullet hits 6-year-old girl during robbery, Texas cops say
A 6-year-old girl is in the hospital after police in Houston say she was shot in the leg by a stray bullet while her family was in line at a nearby McDonald’s drive-thru.
Claire Tidwell was in the backseat of her father’s SUV late Monday afternoon, “just waiting on food,” Danny Tidwell told KTRK.
“All of a sudden we heard gunshots,” Danny Tidwell told KPRC. “Me and my son, we ducked down because it was so loud. We knew it was close but we couldn’t tell where it was coming from. There were people running all over the place … my daughter was in the back seat and she said, ‘Daddy, I’m hurt.’”
The bullet went through the vehicle’s back door and grazed one leg before striking Claire’s other leg, according to KTRK.
About a dozen shots had been fired, KPRC reported, before Danny Tidwell peeled out of the McDonald’s line, rushing his daughter home, where her mother called an ambulance.
At that point, though, the family didn’t know that the bullet that hit their little girl was fired by a security guard working for the T-Mobile store in the strip mall next door to the McDonald’s, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Two men tried to steal phones from the T-Mobile store, KRIV reported, and the security guard chased them out of the store. He shot one of the suspects, while the other was later found and arrested by Houston police.
That security guard has been identified as Christopher Bradley, who was arrested Tuesday, and has been charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, according to a news release from Houston police. His bond is set at $30,000.
Claire Tidwell was in surgery for three hours Tuesday, KHOU reported, where doctors successfully removed the bullet from her leg.
“The gunshot wound alone was big and her leg is so tiny,” Claire’s aunt, Jessica Montanez, told the station.
T-Mobile issued a statement to KPRC on the shooting. It read:
“This is a tragic situation and our thoughts are with everyone involved. We are working closely with the independently-owned third party retailer that operates the store to fully understand the facts around this terrible incident and how their security service responded. We will also continue to provide assistance to law enforcement in their ongoing investigation.”
This story was originally published November 14, 2018 at 8:24 AM.
