An 11-year-old girl was critically injured Monday afternoon in a shooting at an apartment complex parking lot in Antioch, California, highlighting ongoing concerns about gun violence affecting children and innocent bystanders across the United States.
The girl was in a family vehicle in the Delta View Apartments parking area when gunfire erupted as the car was exiting the complex around 12:30 p.m. local time, police said. The bullet entered the vehicle and struck the child in the head, authorities reported.
After the shooting, the family drove to a nearby shopping center, where bystanders alerted first responders. The child was transported to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland in critical but stable condition, officials said. Investigators believe the family was not the intended target, and the shooting may have involved a stray round from unknown suspects.
The victim’s father, who asked that his identity not be released, described the emotional toll of the incident and voiced concerns about safety in the apartment complex. Family members lit candles and prayed for the girl’s recovery while police continue to seek information from the public, including surveillance footage from the area.
The Antioch Police Department is urging anyone with information to contact Detective John Cox as part of the ongoing investigation.
This incident adds to a broader pattern of gun violence affecting children in the U.S., where stray bullets and neighborhood shootings have increasingly endangered young people — even when they are not the intended targets. National advocacy groups say such cases underscore the urgent need for community safety strategies and stronger gun violence prevention efforts.