An 11-year-old girl in Cape Town, South Africa, suffered a gunshot wound in the head on Sunday and is fighting for her life in hospital after a gangster reportedly used her as a human shield during a gunfight.
The girl (left) and her mother (right)
Zhekiria Jansen was at a local shop to which her mother had sent her to buy groceries when the gunfight suddenly broke out. A gangster inside the shop reportedly grabbed her and held her as a shield when another gangster started shooting at him.
A bullet caught her in the head as she tried to break free. She was able to sit up despite her pain and bleeding when her mother, Rachel Ramdas, arrived at the scene a few minutes later before an ambulance took her away to hospital.
Police reports indicate that the area is prone to gangs and gang fights that are often tragic. In December, a seven-year-old child was shot in the front yard of her home while a neighbor in a wheelchair also sustained injuries in a similar incident.
