'My Baby Was Bleeding': Mother Of Toddler Recounts How Her Child Was Grazed By A Bullet In Chatham
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A beautiful smile on this little boy's face and a big bandage over his eye where the Chicago toddler was grazed by a bullet.
Just one day later, he's home and his family is speaking out. CBS 2's Meredith Barack spoke to his mother on Friday. All three of her sons were in the backseat and their grandmother was in the passenger seat.
They were on their way to the boys' great-grandmother's home in the suburbs when shots rang out. The mom frantically pulling into a parking lot to make sure her family was okay.
Wiggling in his mom's arms, Cor'mari Allen is slowly getting back to his usual toddler self.
"I'm so glad he's okay."
With a bandage over his right eyebrow, the one-year-old showed his smiles, as his mom Talisha Ashford recounted the terrifying moment her youngest son was grazed by a bullet.
"I was driving and a bullet just went past," Ashford said. "(It) went past me and my baby was in the backseat."
Ashford said she quickly pulled away into the Walgreens parking lot near 75th and State, all while telling her two other sons, ages eight and 10, to duck.
"My kids said that my baby was bleeding, so I hopped out of the car," Ashford said.
With the back window shot out, Ashford said she didn't even put the car into park. She was so panicked about what she might find when she opened the backdoor.
"My baby didn't say anything, wasn't crying or anything. So I didn't know if anything was okay or not," Ashford said. "I was just screaming for help."
Ashford said Cor'Mari now has bullet fragments in his forehead. He'll have surgery later this month to try and remove them. She said her family is traumatized after what they went through.
"It's always an innocent person," Ashford said. "These are innocent children and they deserve a chance."
Two other men in a different vehicle were injured in the shooting as well. Both suffering gunshot wounds to the chest. They are being treated at University of Chicago Medical Center.
No one is in custody at this time and there's no word on a motive but each business at a nearby intersection has multiple security cameras.
