Recovery Going Well For Little Boy Shot In Indio

“Doctors are saying he’s doing good. He’s a real strong boy. He’s doing really, really good,” said Adam DeLeon, the father of a four year old boy shot in Indio on Monday.

Thursday afternoon, the boy had a second surgery at Loma Linda Medical Center.

“They took him in. They had a sponge in it, his open wound. They opened him up, make sure there was no infection,” said DeLeon.

His son got caught in the crossfire during a shooting between two vehicles, as the family was leaving their home near the Indio fairgrounds.

“I heard a ‘pop’. He (Adam) started jumping up and down in pain. I grabbed him. I heard maybe six more shots. I pulled him inside — saw he had a hole in his stomach. My wife saw he had a hole in the back,” said DeLeon.

Adam’s terrified parents rushed him to the hospital.

“I was cradling him. He said ‘Papi, I’m ok’. He didn’t want to go to the hospital. I was scared. His eyes were going backward. He wanted to go to sleep. I told him ‘don’t go to sleep’, thought I wasn’t going to see him anymore,” said DeLeon.

There is an intense investigation to find out who was involved in the shooting. Indio Police are now offering a $10,000 reward.

“It shouldn’t be the reward people are looking for. They should do it because it’s a kid, he’s innocent. If they’ve seen something, they should come forward. I would do it,” said DeLeon.

The family says doctors are not sure when Adam will be able to go home.