Toddler Shot By Stray Bullet In Jersey City Continues To Recover At Home
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A toddler was recovering at home late Monday, after being shot in the face in Jersey City while sitting in a car with his family.
As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, the little boy, 18-month-old Mina Beshay, had surgery over the weekend to remove a piece of bullet and glass from his cheek. On Monday night, his cheek was still swollen from the injury.
"Sometimes he's crying, still has pain -- this side, from inside the cut," said his father, Michel Beshay.
The incident happened Saturday afternoon at the corner of Bergen and Harrison avenues.
Mina was sitting in his family's parked car with his sister and father, while his mother was picking up a package a nearby Post Office, when someone opened fire. The bullet shattered the car's back window and struck him.
"Suddenly, I heard about four shots or five shots -- bang, bang, bang," his father said.
Witnesses said they saw the shooter run off. Police said the family was not the intended target.
After surgery and a few days at the hospital, Mina was finally released.
"It's very painful," his father, Michel Beshay, said. "We thank God that it stayed here and the doctor took the bullet out."
Beshay is now demanding the gun violence to stop.
"I need answers, and I need improvement!" he said. "Maybe I expect that one day my daughter or my son will get killed or I have to move from Jersey City or I have to move to another state."
There have been 24 homicides in Jersey City this year. There have also been 86 shootings, compared with 77 last year.
Mayor Steven Fulop released a statement saying, "Thankfully, the baby will recover, but this is a tragedy. Gun violence in cities has become a national epidemic. We continue to hire additional officers and deploy more officers on foot patrols, but the challenge is daunting."
But when CBS2's Christine Sloan on Monday asked Fulop what he planned to do given the increase in shootings, Fulop said, "Shootings and homicides have been flat over the last three years."
However, Michel Beshay said Monday night that he got the answers he wanted when Mayor Fulop called him at home.
"He promised me it's going to be more safe, and that he's going to hire more officers to protect our life, and I appreciate his call," Michael Beshay said.
As for Mina, he is expected to make a full recovery.
"This is the best scenario," Michel Beshay said as his son made some noises.
So far, no arrests in Saturday's incident have been made.
"We still need to feel good," Beshay told 1010 WINS' Al Jones earlier. "We still need to catch the shooter."
Jersey City police asked that anyone with information give them a call.
