Boy, 4, killed as he sat in church by bullet fired TWO miles away
By
Paul Thompson
Last updated at 2:04 AM on 05th January 2010
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/...89_233x367.jpg Tragic: Four-year-old Marquel Peters was killed by a falling bullet fired two miles away from where he was attending a church service
A four-year-old boy was killed by a falling bullet fired two miles away from where he was attending a church service.
Marquel Peters was seated with his parents when the bullet, fired outside as part of New Year celebrations, came through the roof and struck him on the head.
The toddler collapsed at the feet of his parents who had no idea what had caused the gaping wound in his head.
It was only as doctors tried to save his life that they realised what had happened.
Ballistic experts believe the ammunition came from an AK-47 assault rifle fired more than two miles away from where the child was attending a service at the Church of God of Prophecy in Atlanta, Georgia.
Police said it was common for people to fire guns into the air as part of the New Year celebrations even though it is illegal.
Marquel's mother Nathalee told how her son died just 20 minutes into the New Year.
'I saw his Nintendo game fall on the floor, and I heard a sound and I heard him scream a little bit,' she said. 'I looked around and all I saw was blood coming from his head. It's so hard. He was my only child.'
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/...59_468x286.jpg Deep in prayer: The Church of God of Prophecy in Georgia, Atlanta, where the boy died. The bullet fired from an AK-47 assault rifle passed through the roof and struck him on the head
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/...34_237x271.jpg 'He was my only child': Marquel's mother, Nathalee Peters
Ms Peters wants the person who fired the gun to turn himself in.
'I want to say to the person responsible for this please come forward or whoever out there knows something about who did this to my son, please come forward and say something.
'We need justice,' she said.
Police said it was unlikely the gunman has any idea of the damage he has caused.
Ballistic experts are examining the bullet to see if it can be matched to a gun on their database.
In 2005, stray bullets hit two people at different locations in downtown Atlanta on New Year's Eve.
Aimee Buff from Hampton and her fiance were celebrating her 27th birthday at Underground Atlanta's Peach Drop when she was wounded.
A bullet hit her in the ear and became lodged about two inches from her spine.
And a few blocks away, Merritt Tidwell, a University of Georgia freshman from Douglasville, was struck below her right knee by a bullet that pierced the roof of the Georgia Dome, where she was watching the 2005 Peach Bowl, an American football game.
Italian boy, 6, hit by stray bullet fired in New Years celebration
A six-year-old Italian tourist narrowly escaped death after being hit in the chest by a falling bullet fired during New Year celebrations.
Little Andrea Fregonese, from Treviso, north of Venice, suffered a punctured lung in the incident outside a Miami restaurant on New Year's Day.
Shortly after midnight the boy complained of chest pains to his parents and when they lifted his shirt saw the bullet entry wound.
He underwent an emergency operation and is said to be in a stable condition.
The shooting came just hours after authorities in Miami asked people to refrain from firing guns in the air.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...#ixzz0bhqXn4Em
