Mom of toddler shot in face speaks out

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - The manhunt continues Wednesday afternoon for the gunman who shot a two-year-old girl in Niagara Falls. Police already have a person of interest they are looking to speak to.

Conscious and crying, 2-year-old J'Raeona was rushed to Women and Children’s Hospital after she was shot in the face outside of a corner store at 17th Street and Pierce Avenue in Niagara Falls around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Store Manager Abdo Salleh said, “We heard bullet shots three times, soon we heard the mother, she was in the store, run out to her car.”

Salleh says J'Raeona’s mother got in the car and went straight to the hospital. Salleh said he thought the gunman was firing at the store, but quickly realized he was wrong. Salleh explained that as J'Raeona’s mom ran outside she screamed, “My baby is in the car.”

News 4 caught up to the single mother, 27-year-old Sharonda Platt, who is going through many emotions right now, from anger to sadness.

"You was a man when you had the gun. Now be a man. My daughter is down and somebody is going to have to pay for this," Platt said.

Tuesday afternoon’s drive-by shooting was caught on the store’s surveillance cameras. The video was turned over to police. J'Raeona was hit twice in the face. One bullet was lodged in her face and another passed through her cheek, narrowly missing her brain.

The family’s pastor Reverend Duane Thomas says J'Raeona has already gone through one reconstructive surgery.

"The bullets hit the baby in the face. One side of the face, and the other lodged in the other side of the face. The baby was more than lucky, she was blessed. She's blessed that God has spared her life," Reverend Thomas said.

Platt is not giving many details about what happened and many questions remain about the man she was with at the time of the incident. A man had driven Platt and J'Raeona to the store, the Platt's pastor says the man in the vehicle was the gunman's intended target.

Platt said she has not talked to police yet and says she never thought associating with this person would put her or her baby in danger.

"I don't care who's in a gang right now, who did what. I would not surround my 2-year-old child around anyone who's gang-affiliated," she said.

The Mayor of Niagara Falls says the area of the shooting has been riddled with gun violence, now they are trying to figure out why.  The person of interest has not been identified to the public.