A total of 23 bullets struck the Regina home where an 11-year-old girl was injured last month, in what police now say was a targeted attack.
In an interview with CBC News on Wednesday, the girl’s father said just one of the 23 bullets entered his daughter’s bedroom, and she was struck in the side of her body. CBC News is not naming the father due to concerns he has for his safety and the safety of his family.
The father said three bullets entered his bedroom in the home in the Eastview neighbourhood on Aug. 11 and nearly hit him and wife, who were lying down in bed.
“One hit [the] bed frame, second one went through the mattress, the third one went over us,” he said.
“My wife, she panicked. And then she started screaming, running around.”
Their daughter was rushed to hospital in Regina and later transferred to Saskatoon for surgery, where doctors inserted a chest tube and treated her for internal injuries.
After the tube was pulled out, his daughter “started walking right away,” he said, adding that she’s now doing OK and is back in school.
The girl’s father said his family continues to live in fear and they have moved to a different location.
Two men charged
On Wednesday, Regina police announced two men have been charged in relation to the shooting.
Anthony Nahbexie, 20, and Devon Nahbexie, 18, are charged with attempted murder, reckless discharge of a firearm and conspiracy to commit murder. They were scheduled to make their first appearance in Regina provincial court on Wednesday morning.
Police have said officers were called to a home on the 1000 block of Edgar Street at around 2 a.m. on Aug. 11, where they found a child suffering from a gunshot wound.
Acting police chief Lorilee Davies said at a news conference on Wednesday that the shooting was not random.
In an interview with CBC News, the girl’s father said 23 bullets struck their Eastview neighbourhood home in the Aug. 11 incident, one of which entered his daughter’s bedroom and hit her in the side of her body.
“It was a targeted location. And so for people in the community, I would reassure them that it is a safe neighborhood, that there aren’t ongoing safety concerns,” she said.
Police say the investigation is ongoing and are asking anyone with information or video to come forward.
Neighbour shocked by shooting
Neighbour Muhammad Ishaq said the news shocked the community, and incited some fear.
Ishaq said he has known the injured girl since she was little, and his daughter used to play with her. He said he couldn’t imagine the trauma that will stay with her after the shooting.
“Everybody feels unsafe,” he said. “We didn’t expect this would happen here.”
Residents of Regina’s Eastview neighbourhood came together Wednesday evening to discuss safety concerns after a shooting earlier this month seriously injured an 11-year-old girl.
