The Texas child was hit by a stray bullet while sitting with her family in a McDonald's drive-thru.
A 6-year-old Texas girl was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while sitting in a McDonald's drive-thru lane with her family, authorities said.
Claire Tidwell was in the back seat of her father's SUV earlier this week when shots rang out.
"While we were ordering food in a McDonald's drive-thru, we heard the sounds of gunfire as almost a dozen shots were fired right outside of our car," her father, Danny Tidwell, wrote on a GoFundMe page established to help with medical costs. "We ducked down and Claire shouted out, 'Daddy, I'm hurt!' When I turned to the backseat, I saw blood everywhere."
Tidwell said he was "about to lose it" as he tried to stop the bleeding, but Claire kept him calm, saying, "Daddy, I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be fine."
The gunshots came from security guard Christoper Bradley, who was firing at two shoplifting suspects at a nearby T-Mobile store, Houston authorities said. One was hit and the other was later arrested by Houston police, KRIV-TV reported.
Bradley was charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, according to Houston police. He is being held in lieu of $30,000 bail and has not yet entered a plea.
Claire underwent three hours of surgery Tuesday. Surgeons successfully removed a bullet from one of her legs and repaired damage to the other caused by a bullet graze.
“This is a tragic situation and our thoughts are with everyone involved," T-Mobile said in a statement. "We are working closely with the independently-owned third party retailer that operates the store to fully understand the facts around this terrible incident and how their security service responded. We will also continue to provide assistance to law enforcement in their ongoing investigation.”
Claire has been able to take a few steps since her surgery and is expected to recover with physical therapy.
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