A Bronx girl who was shot in front of her apartment building over the weekend said yesterday she’s afraid to leave home.
“I’m nervous,” said Jaimin Montilla, 9, who was hit by a stray bullet while playing with friends in the courtyard of her building on Nelson Avenue.
“It was scary. I’m afraid to go outside,” she added.
Police have no suspects in the shooting, which occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on Sunday. The sound of bullets scattered a large group, but Jaimin could not move.
“She said, ‘Mommy, somebody hit me,’ ” said her mother, Angela Montilla. “I said, ‘Hit you? How? There’s no one here.’ Then she pointed to [her backside] and I could see she was bleeding.”
Montilla was outraged. “The police need to pay more attention to this area – before there’s a real tragedy,” she said. “My daughter is traumatized.”
The injury has left Jaimin unable to sit down. She is walking without a cane, but slowly. The bullet is still in her body. If it moves around, doctors will be forced to extract it.
Jaimin’s fourth-grade classmates at CES 126 filled her room with get-well cards festooned with hearts and flowers.
Her father, Oscar Montilla, believes she will recover from the trauma soon.
“At least she overcame the worst part of it – getting shot.” he said.