A man who co-owns a store in a Victorville, Calif., mall accidentally shot a nine-year-old girl while he tried to chase shoplifters Tuesday evening, according to police.
Adelanto, Calif., resident Marqel Cockrell, 20, co-owns the Sole Addicts store in the Mall of Victor Valley – around an hour and a half drive northwest of Los Angeles. At around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, he chased after and fired multiple shots at two shoplifters, said the Victorville Police Department.
However, the department said his shots missed and struck the nine-year-old girl. She was treated by medical personnel and transported by air to Loma Linda University Medical Center.
CBS Los Angeles reporter Tina Patel shared a photo of the girl in her hospital bed on Twitter.
According to CBS News, the girl was identified by family members as Ava Chruniak. When the bullets started flying, Chruniak was getting ready to take a photo with an Easter bunny at the mall, said her grandmother, Robin Moraga-Saldarelli.
Chruniak was left with three gunshot wounds, including two in her arm, said her grandmother. One of the bullets fractured a bone.
“And it’s the kind of fracture they can’t surgically fix,” Moraga-Saldarelli said. “She’s going to have to wear a special brace for it, and it’s going to take a lot longer to heal,” she told Fox 11 TV.
Even when it does, there could be complications.
“It'll be awhile before the bone heals and then we will see the extent of the nerve damage, but she’s a trooper. She really is a tough little kid,” Moraga-Saldarelli told KNBC-TV.
Law enforcement received multiple calls from the scene about gunshots.
“We heard some gun shots like around 6:30 in the afternoon, so me and my coworker went to the front of the store to close the doors,” said Jose Carlon, the owner of Stacy's a menswear store adjacent to the Easter bunny photo opportunity, told CBS Los Angeles.
Over the past six months, three shootings have occurred at the mall, said the outlet.
“It never used to be like this,” said Terry Lattimore, a shopper who also spoke with CBS Los Angeles. “We've been here for 10 years, never had a problem, and I heard, I think, a couple of weeks ago, something happened in there, to turn around last night, this happens,” she said. “It's horrible. My heart goes out to the little kid.”
The mall was closed Tuesday after the shooting and reopened on Wednesday, according to CBS News.
Once the calls came in Tuesday, “patrol personnel from across the high desert region responded to assist in searching and clearing the mall,” said authorities. “California Highway Patrol also responded and assisted with securing the scene.”
Cockrell fled from the mall after the shooting, said police.
Eventually, Nevada Highway Patrol located him at around 9 p.m. in his vehicle and took him into custody. Cockrell was booked in at the Clark County Jail on an extraditable warrant. He was charged with attempted murder and his bail is set at $1 million. CBS said an extradition hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
“I’m glad they caught him and he will definitely pay for this. I really hope they throw the book at him because you can't go shooting in a mall especially when there’s a lot of children in there with the Easter Bunny,” the victim's grandmother told KNBC-TV.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Chruniak’s family cover her medical expenses. As of Thursday morning, it had raised $4,425 towards a $5,000 goal.
Related
Related
