Police say the shooting of a 9-year-old girl in Newark, New Jersey, was the result of a dispute between two teens and the young victim wasn't the intended target.
One of the teens involved was the girl's 15-year-old sister. They were both at home on Holiday Court and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Wednesday when the teen girl opened her front door and was met with the 16-year-old girl whom she has been squabbling with, according to Newark police spokesperson Brian O'Hara.
"Apparently there had been something ongoing between them and they had some sort of physical altercation early this afternoon," O'Hara said.
The 16-year-old girl was with a male and one of them opened fire and struck the 15-year-old's little sister in her foot and leg. The shooting victim is expected to recover.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
Investigators are still looking into who had the gun and who actually did the shooting, but the 16-year-old has been taken into police custody. Police say the teen has a record and she was supposed to be in court Wednesday. The person she was with is still unidentified and the weapon has not been found.
O'Hara says the problem of gun violence is getting worse. So far this year, Newark police have recovered 58% more guns than they did last year --- especially from teenagers who have suffered during the pandemic.
"We're talking about young people. They have not had structure in their lives over the last year and a half. They have not been in school and just in general, the community is facing a whole lot of stress," O'Hara said.
