SAN ANTONIO – Less than 48 hours after being struck by a stray bullet on New Year’s, 9-year-old Sebastian Rodriguez is calling for celebratory gunfire to be stopped.
“If you have a gun, never take it out and shoot it,” he said. “Just leave it inside.”
Rodriguez said he was on his front porch with his grandmother at midnight when he suddenly realized something was wrong.
“I was right here, trying not to listen to the fireworks, then the bullet hit me from this side when it came from that side,” Rodriguez said. “I felt it burn, then pain.”
Rodriguez said he screamed and ran inside to his mother, Gina Martinez.
Martinez said she initially thought Rodriguez was hit by a firework until she saw what she described as a bullet wound.
“Everything was going through my mind,” Martinez said. “He’s my baby.”
The San Antonio Police Department said the bullet did not go through Rodriguez’s leg, but instead was lodged about an inch above his right knee.
“The bullet was still hot,” Rodriguez said, “so it looked like it burst my skin.”
Rodriguez was taken to the hospital for treatment, and returned home later that day.
Martinez said she’s grateful her son is expected to be okay and is proud of how he handled the ordeal.
“I’m proud of him for being brave,” Martinez said, “you know, for being strong.”
However, Martinez said the incident should be a warning to anyone firing guns into the air to celebrate.
“You don’t know who’s on the receiving end of the fun you think you’re having,” Martinez said.
Police are still investigating and have no information on a possible suspect.
As a mother, Martinez had strong words for whoever fired the shot that injured her son.
“They hurt my baby,” Martinez said. “I don’t think there’s a nice way to say anything for somebody being so irresponsible.”
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