PHOENIX — Michelle Russell had just gotten home from picking up dinner for the family when her life changed forever.
While she ate tacos inside her apartment, her 14-year-old son took his food to the hallway to eat with the other kids.
And that's when the shots rang out.
"We were just talking, and he just came up and [shot]," said Russell's teenage son. "There was a lot of us, but we were the only two that got shot."
Russell said while the kids were eating, some random people showed up and started shooting.
Russell's child was wounded, and his young friend was also injured.
"When I saw the blood on my baby, I passed out; I had a seizure," Russell said. "That's never happened before, but I was so scared because I couldn't find my son."
She remembered leaving her apartment to search for her son, then coming across his plate of food and cellphone on the floor.
"That's when one of the guns was pointed at me," Russell said. "I should have been scared but I was just looking for my son."
The 14-year-old was hiding inside his friend's apartment, who also was shot.
It wasn't until he started bleeding that he realized he had also been wounded.
"I saw his head when he started shooting, and I fell down, and then I got up when I heard the gunshot stop and ran upstairs into her house," the teen said.
Senseless gun violence
The Phoenix Police Department said the shooting happened around 7 p.m. When officers arrived, they found the two injured kids.
Russell said the children were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and were released from the hospital hours later.
"Two kids almost lost their lives to senseless gun violence," the mother said with tears. "I almost lost my baby."
After the close encounter with one of the shooters, Russell said she feared for her family's safety.
"I'm just trying to keep it together, keep my kids safe and just relocate," she added. "I don't know what we'll do next, but we'll figure it out."
Phoenix police said the investigation is ongoing. No details have been provided on possible suspects.
"If they did that in broad daylight to these kids, that means no one in the community is safe," Russell said. "Justice does need to be served. I just can't express enough how bad I want them off the streets."
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with medical bills and relocation expenses. If you would like to help, you can donate here.
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