An eight-year-old boy is critically injured after a man shot at his family’s car while they were looking at Christmas lights.
Zachariah Bannister was riding around in his family car on 10 December in Lawton, Oklahoma, when he was shot in the head, police said.
His grandmother told local outlet KSWO that his mother, Nichole Groshong, had reversed the car so he and his brother could have a look at some Christmas lights was she noticed a green laser followed by a gunshot.
”His eyes were closed,” she told the outlet. “He was leaned over to the right side. I [saw] blood, and [Zack’s brother] said that Zack was bleeding and screamed, along with myself, ‘Drive mom, drive.’”
Lawton Police Sergeant Christopher Blessing told The Oklahoman that an arrest has been made in connection with the shooting, and the suspect faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
The suspect remains in the Comanche County Detention Center but has yet to be formally charged.
A GoFundMe page has been set up by his mother to raise money for her injured son, which has so far raised over $17,000.
The family told local outlets they have no prior connection to the gunman and are unsure why he shot at their vehicle.
The fundraising page said that the family were out driving to look at some of the Christmas lights in the area.
After the gunshot went off, Ms Groshong wrote she drove “away as fast as I could” to a nearby hospital while his brother in the back was trying to keep Zachariah awake, which hospital staff said was “ the best thing he could have done.”
In an update on the page on Monday, Ms Groshong said that her son had developed a blood clot caused by a fractured skull.
They have put him on blood thinners, but if they don’t work they will have to remove it manually.
“He has lost most of his strength. He can’t sit up without help, he also has to have help staying sitting up once he is sat up. He barely has any strength left in his little legs. He tries to feed himself, but he gets tired really quick,” his mother wrote.
Zachariah is still in the ICU and will remain there until the blood clot has gone away.
The Independent has contacted the Lawton Police Department for further information.
