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Lovely Toney, 3, is recovering after being shot by a stray bullet during a homicide suspect’s standoff with police in a neighboring apartment.
The harrowing incident happened around 8:30 p.m. in Ridge — a town in Long Island, New York — Aug. 22. The shooter, Gary Jones, 38, shot the toddler in the hand and stomach while attempting to open fire on police, according to CBS News.
Lovely’s father, James Toney, told the outlet that the toddler had been jumping on the couch when bullets from next door hit her through the wall.
“No 3-year-old, any child, should experience anything inside their home. She was fresh out of the tub, dripping wet from getting out of the bath,” James recalled. “I turned around, and my daughter was standing there with blood running.”
The authorities had been on the hunt for Jones over the alleged June murder of his girlfriend, Shayna Staton.
Law and Crime detailed that the police initially went to Ridge to talk to Jones’ friend, whom they spoke with for 10 minutes.
The authorities learned that Jones was in his friend’s nearby apartment, so they reportedly removed everyone else from the residence before going inside.
“Jones immediately started firing multiple shots at our detectives,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison. “Three rounds went into an adjacent [apartment] and struck our 3-year-old victim.”
Police body camera footage showed the heartbreaking moments Lovely’s father begged authorities to immediately get his daughter medical attention. Clips from the traumatic evening also showed a cop holding the child and running her through the emergency room.
Lovely will reportedly need surgery following her injuries but is expected to make a full recovery.
Police claim the caliber of gun that shot the child was the same used in the killing of Jones’ girlfriend. When police finally got access to the gunman — who barricaded himself after Lovely was shot — Jones was dead via a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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