7-Year-Old Injured After Car Riddled With Bullets On Vacaville Freeway
VACAVILLE (CBS13) — A seven-year-old child was injured in a shooting that happened on a Vacaville freeway Monday afternoon, the Solano area California Highway Patrol said.
The child's injuries were non-life-threatening and the CHP said there is no information available on a suspect.
The shooting happened just after 4:15 p.m. on eastbound Interstate 80 near the Alamo Drive exit. The victim vehicle was hit by several bullets, the CHP said. The child, who was in the backseat, was struck at least once.
"Some kids get hurt on the playground but getting shot? It's crazy," said Kaliayah Harrison of Fairfield who was at the hospital when the seven-year-old arrived.
The person behind the wheel drove from the I-80 Alamo exit in Vacaville to NorthBay Medical Center where the child got help immediately.
"I have seven-year-old cousins and imagining them going through something like that, it's so sad," Harrison said.
But just how often do highway shootings happen? According to the California Legislative Analyst's office, there were 210 highway shootings in 2019, and in 2021, that number was 471.
"More CHP would probably help it more," Harrison said.
The Governor's Office is on top of it, proposing $4 million of the general to support the CHP highway violence task force. More than half would go directly to overtime for additional officers.
CBS13 asked the CHP if there was any indication of who might have been involved or even if the person who pulled the trigger was intentionally aiming at the victim's vehicle. They have not been able to answer those questions.
The circumstances of the shooting remain under investigation.
