ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. – Authorities are looking for help in trying to find the person responsible for shooting a gun whose bullet ended up hitting a 14-year-old girl in the leg.
The girl, Haley Brown, was shot while playing outside near East Dorado Avenue and South Malaya Court on Saturday night, just before 8 p.m.
"I heard a pop. Like, I don't even know how to explain it, it just sounded like a big pop," Haley said. "I heard it again and a second after I felt it, I felt it hit my leg and it hurt, and I just started bleeding."
Haley ran inside and told her mom what happened and her mom called 911. She was taken to the hospital for what appeared to be a gunshot or shrapnel wound.
The sheriff’s office suspects someone was shooting rabbits nearby when the girl was struck in the leg, as a dead rabbit was found nearby. A necropsy will be conducted on the rabbit to determine its cause of death.
Wearing a bandage Monday, the girl recounted being hit.
“It hurt a lot. I didn’t see anybody or where it came from, so the first thing I thought was I have to get inside,” Haley said.
"It's very early and we don't know what kind of damage was done to her," said her mother, Genevieve Brown. "Whether it was an accident or malicious, they have no right to be shooting in our city."
The girl is expected to be OK. The sheriff’s office says it couldn’t determine the caliber of the round that hit her, but asks anyone with knowledge of the shooting to contact the sheriff’s office at 303-795-4711 regarding case No. CT17-37422.