A 15-year-old girl has suffered a collapsed lung after she was shot with a pellet gun in San Jose Friday.
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On the afternoon of June 10, Gianna Vitarelli was walking near Valley Fair Mall at 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd. when she was attacked by a suspect with a pellet gun. "A car pulls up behind us, shoots me in the back and then drives away," she told KNTV.
Vitarelli is now in pediatric intensive care at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center with a collapsed lung and fractured rib, the station reported. Doctors have inserted a tube into her lung to help her breathe.
"It collapsed my lung. It almost hit my heart, it broke my ribs and it caused internal bleeding," she told the station. "Also, because I was shot, it may have been a funny prank. But our whole summer trip was canceled because of this. So it's very hard. It's not a joke."
According to Vitarelli's father, police and hospital staff told them there had been at least three other pellet gun attacks with injuries reported the same day.
The San Jose Police Department told KCBS Radio they are investigating the incident and the case has been assigned to a detective, but did not confirm if other pellet gun attacks had occurred.
The pellet is still lodged inside of Vitarelli because doctors believe it is too dangerous to remove, the station said.
KCBS Radio has reached out to Valley Fair Mall for comment, but has not yet heard back.
Currently, there are no suspects.
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