6-year-old shot in Smyrna drive-by faces long road to recovery

6-year-old recovering after being shot in Smyrna drive-by

The boy’s mother said he has had multiple surgeries since the shooting last week. She said the boy’s father is also in jail after allegedly firing back in self-defense.

What they're saying:

ATLANTA - Teria McCrary says her 6-year-old son Asher has endured three surgeries since someone opened fire on his family's car in Smyrna on Sunday.

McCrary was behind the wheel when the shooting happened outside a gas station around 3:40 p.m.

The 6-year-old victim, his 2 siblings and McCrary's fiancée Eric Rushi were headed home when they crossed paths with Craig Calhoun in the area of Spring Road and Campbell Road on Father's Day.

Asher McCrary courtesy of Teria McCrary

Calhoun "rolled down his window. He was saying like, you know, B-word like basically cursing me out of my name," McCrary said.

She said Calhoun pulled out a gun and started shooting at her car, and Rushi then drew his own weapon and returned fire.

"Eric defended us," said McCrary. "He fired the shots back."

Both men now face charges.

McCrary insists Calhoun was the aggressor. She said her family had no interaction with him before the shooting and doesn't know what sparked the violent confrontation.

"I don't know why he picked us," McCrary explained, "but he came up, you know, beside the car, rolled the window down and just started shooting out of the vehicle. And, you know, we were all terrified, like we didn't know what was going on. Him being the dad that he is, he (Rushi) did what he had to do to protect us."

What we know:

Police charged both men with aggravated assault, child cruelty and firearms possession during the commission of a crime.