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Infant shot on I-25 fighting for her life
COMMERCE CITY - An 8-month-old girl who was shot last month as she rode with her family on Interstate 25 survived after a bullet entered the right side of her head, shattered her skull and exited through the other side.
Part of the infant's skull was replaced with cadaver bones, a family friend said Thursday at a news conference here.
Deputies have not identified a motive for the shooting, and the family has remained anonymous out of safety concerns.
The friend, Rachelle Kalkofen, spoke out to plead for witnesses to come forward. She identified the baby only as Viviana.
The child, who remains in critical condition, also has suffered a stroke, Kalkofen said.
"She's obviously in pain, at times upset," she said. "But she's definitely a fighter."
Adams County Sheriff's spokesman Louis Dixon III said investigators have very little to go on. So far, all they have is that the family thought they saw a small red car behind their Honda Civic when the gunfire erupted on Jan. 23.
The family had been at dinner in Northglenn, Kalkofen said. Viviana was with her mother and two older sisters - ages 6 and 4 - in the Honda, which was driven by the youngsters' aunt. Viviana was in a child-safety seat next to the window in back.
In a car ahead was Viviana's father, a brother and another man.
They were on I-25 heading south near U.S. 36 when they first realized something was wrong.
"Both women in the vehicle heard a pop and thought they had run over something," Kalkofen read from the family's statement. "Moments later they heard a second sound.
"Both adult women thought that one of the children had struck a window with a toy or another object. They noticed a strong smell and decided they were going to pull over."
Viviana's mother climbed into the back seat as one of the older children shouted that the baby was bleeding.
"As her mother climbed into the back seat, the windows began to shatter, and she yelled for all to duck because they were being shot at," Kalkofen read.
The driver turned on her hazard lights, honked the horn and drove to the center divider while she called 911 on her cell phone. She stopped the car between 58th Avenue and Interstate 70.
The right rear passenger window was shot at least three times. One bullet exited the left rear window, and another went through the windshield. Viviana's mother was shot several times in the forearm.
"It's the family's belief that certainly there must have been witnesses," Kalkofen said.
Infant shot on I-25 fighting for her life
COMMERCE CITY - An 8-month-old girl who was shot last month as she rode with her family on Interstate 25 survived after a bullet entered the right side of her head, shattered her skull and exited through the other side.
Part of the infant's skull was replaced with cadaver bones, a family friend said Thursday at a news conference here.
Deputies have not identified a motive for the shooting, and the family has remained anonymous out of safety concerns.
The friend, Rachelle Kalkofen, spoke out to plead for witnesses to come forward. She identified the baby only as Viviana.
The child, who remains in critical condition, also has suffered a stroke, Kalkofen said.
"She's obviously in pain, at times upset," she said. "But she's definitely a fighter."
Adams County Sheriff's spokesman Louis Dixon III said investigators have very little to go on. So far, all they have is that the family thought they saw a small red car behind their Honda Civic when the gunfire erupted on Jan. 23.
The family had been at dinner in Northglenn, Kalkofen said. Viviana was with her mother and two older sisters - ages 6 and 4 - in the Honda, which was driven by the youngsters' aunt. Viviana was in a child-safety seat next to the window in back.
In a car ahead was Viviana's father, a brother and another man.
They were on I-25 heading south near U.S. 36 when they first realized something was wrong.
"Both women in the vehicle heard a pop and thought they had run over something," Kalkofen read from the family's statement. "Moments later they heard a second sound.
"Both adult women thought that one of the children had struck a window with a toy or another object. They noticed a strong smell and decided they were going to pull over."
Viviana's mother climbed into the back seat as one of the older children shouted that the baby was bleeding.
"As her mother climbed into the back seat, the windows began to shatter, and she yelled for all to duck because they were being shot at," Kalkofen read.
The driver turned on her hazard lights, honked the horn and drove to the center divider while she called 911 on her cell phone. She stopped the car between 58th Avenue and Interstate 70.
The right rear passenger window was shot at least three times. One bullet exited the left rear window, and another went through the windshield. Viviana's mother was shot several times in the forearm.
"It's the family's belief that certainly there must have been witnesses," Kalkofen said.
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