[ad_1]
The baby who was shot in the face by a stray bullet in the Bronx celebrated her first birthday Friday recovering from brain surgery, a relative said.
The child’s aunt, Marta Orellana, posted an adorable photo of the baby on a GoFundMe page she set up called “Catherine’s Warrior Fund” to raise money for the victim’s medical expenses. Orellana said the child is still recovering after she was shot Wednesday evening while sitting in a parked car with her mother.
“As many of you may know, Catherine suffered a horrific trauma. She was hit by a stray bullet in her left cheek while sitting in her car seat. She has had to undergo brain surgery and is still in the hospital recovering,” Orellana wrote in the GoFundMe page.
“I would like to help Catherine and her family with some financial assistance. They have to deal with so much already and the last thing they need to worry about are all the financial issues that arise from medical treatment, especially with having to take time away from work and still having to cover their child’s essentials while she recovers.”
Around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Catherine was strapped in her car seat and sitting in her mother’s vehicle near the intersection of East 198th Street and Valentine Avenue when a gunman, in pursuit of a target, started firing.
The suspect, who has yet to be apprehended, fired at least two rounds, one of which traveled through the back of the car and hit Catherine in the left cheek, police said previously.
A photo on The Post’s front page Friday showed the child’s pink coat drenched in blood and left behind on the street.
Catherine was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx and later moved to Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, where she is in stable condition, her mother, Miraida Gomez, 32, told The Post on Thursday.
“She’s stable,” Gomez said after returning home from the hospital. “She’s going to be OK. God willing. It’s in God’s hands.”
Mayor Eric Adams called the incident a “wake-up call.
“If tonight wasn’t a wake-up call, then I don’t know what will wake us up. It is unimaginable that this is happening in our city,” Adams said.
“Leaders at every level have abandoned city streets. I won’t,” he later tweeted.
[ad_2]