LAKE CITY, Fla — A 12-year-old Lake City girl is dead after police say shots were fired into a home, hitting the girl while she was sitting on a couch.
More than 12 hours after the shooting nearly 2 dozen evidence markers indicating bullet holes are still visible on the NW Long Street house where the little girl was shot and killed.
The Lake City Police Department says the shooting happened at 9:06 p.m. on Thursday. Officers rendered aid to the girl first, then first responders, according to a press release.
Police were still canvassing the area Friday morning and tell First Coast News that they don’t have suspect information at this time.
The girl’s family is asking for privacy and didn’t want to speak on camera. However, her uncle says that gun violence is very common in this part of Lake City, but said rarely are shots fired into someone's home.
House of Miracles Ministries is a church just a few hundred feet from Thursday night’s shooting. Pastor Benjamin Perry was working to renovate the church on Friday and said people in this part of Lake City need to stop the violence.
“There’s a bad spirit in this area and they need to come together. The neighbors need to come together to stop this,” said Perry, "this is a bad side of Lake City, there's a lot of guns and you have some people who are young on paper but they be toting 9 millimeters."
Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Lake City Police Department at (386) 752-4343.