Police: 7-year-old in critical condition after home shot multiple times

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A 7-year-old girl is fighting for her lifel after a shooting that riddled a house with bullet holes in DeKalb County.

The shooting happened along Satellite Boulevard near Ellenwood just after 11 p.m. Friday.

FOX 5’s Emilie Ikeda talked to the homeowner and victim’s foster mother, who wanted to remain anonymous.

“She's critical, not much brain activity,” she said. “She's only 7 years old.”

The foster mom said only her niece and the little girl were home at the time of the shooting; they were watching television in the living room.

She said the 7-year-old was struck by one bullet in the back of the head, and her niece immediately put pressure on the bleeding.

The victim had only been living at the house on Satellite Boulevard for several weeks, according to the foster mom, and was just starting to warm up to the family. She described the little girl as feisty and strong-willed.

"I just hope eventually she's strong enough to regain consciousness and has some kind of brain activity because she's only 7,” the foster mom said. “She doesn’t deserve it."

She added that there could have easily been more victims. Her son and 3-year-old grandchild left the home just minutes before the gunfire broke out.

"They should've been in the living room with her watching the TV…so there could've been more people,” she said.

Neighbors expressed uneasiness Saturday as the investigation continues – many describing how the gunshots boomed and echoed throughout the neighborhood.

“It sounded like a cannon, multiple cannon shots like, boom, boom, boom, boom,” Jecorey Jackson described. 

“It sounded like it was in my driveway [or] out here in my yard, the way it sounded, that's how loud it was,” said Jack Statum, who lives next door.

“I woke up to almost like 10 or 15 shots,” another neighbor said, who did not want to share her name. “It was like somebody was shooting at me I thought.”

Police said no one is currently in custody.

FOX 5 also spoke with the girl's biological parents, Chanrica Boyd and Mario Thomas. They said she was shot in the head and is currently on a breathing machine at a local hospital. They also have concerns about why the house was seemingly targeted.

"My child is innocent. She didn't know what was going on. She didn't even know why it happened or why it hit her. She doesn't," Thomas tearfully said.

Stay with FOX 5 for details on this developing story.