HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — The mother of a toddler accidentally shot by the toddler’s brother last month said the family is so traumatized, they can’t return to the house where the shooting happened.
Kanesha Tyler said even though her baby girl is recovering, she feels like she’s grieving.
And she’s not the only one.
Tyler said the shooting has everyone shaken up — to the point where they’re going to have to find a new place to live.
“I’m just blessed and grateful,” Tyler said Wednesday. “I have so much gratitude to life and God for my baby still being here.”
On May 28, Kanesha Tyler said her three-year-old son picked up a gun and shot his sister, 19-month-old Symphony in the shoulder.
“So, to come up the stairs and see that my baby had a hole in her, ’cause you could literally, like, that’s all I keep seeing,” Tyler said.
Symphony was rushed to the hospital and given stitches. Doctors told Tyler the shoulder was shattered, and that the bullet came within inches of the joint, which would have paralyzed her, and it barely missed her main artery and her lungs.
Tyler went into depression afterwards. She sent her children to live with family in surrounding areas while everyone recovered. But when they all came back together earlier this month, one of her youngest refused to go back in the house.
“As soon as he pulled up to the house,” Tyler said, “my mom said he said, ‘Oh, no, that’s the bad house, I’m not going in there.'”
Tyler said her son cried all night, and said her older children are also being psychologically affected by it. She said the whole family is tight-knit.
“They look out for each other, they do everything together,” Tyler said. “My kids don’t argue, they don’t fuss, they don’t fight.”
Tyler’s older three children are now staying with her mother. Meanwhile, she and her youngest three children are living in a hotel and hope to find another home soon. She said the gun used was brought home by her 14-year-old son, who is currently in juvenile detention. Right now, she doesn’t know why he had it.
“I want my son home,” Tyler said. “That’s something that I would like the world to know. Like, we are a family, we love each other. It’s something that never should have happened.”
Want to help?
Tyler has created a GoFundMe account to cover moving expenses. You can visit the site by clicking here. She said if you can’t donate, she’d appreciate any supplies to help with the move.
