Girl shot in Minneapolis on New Year's Day awaits surgery to remove bullet from face

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As most people were ringing in the New Year, two children in the Twin Cities were facing likely the scariest moments of their lives, after being shot in their homes.

In St. Paul, a 10-year-old boy was shot in his home on Sherburne Avenue West. He was hit in the stomach by bullets that police say came from outside the home. The boy is expected to survive, and the shooting is not believed to be random. In Minneapolis, an 11-year-old girl, Laneria Wilson, was hit by a stray bullet. Days before her 12th birthday, Wilson is now in the hospital, hoping to be well enough to celebrate by Friday.

Recounting the incident from her hospital bed at Hennepin County Medical Center, where she awaits surgery to remove a bullet from her face, Wilson said, "I was on my bed and we thought it was fireworks so we got up to go look to try to catch it and I got hit in the face."

Someone outside was celebrating the New Year by firing shots in the air. The bullets rained down, piercing the upstairs window and hitting Laneria.

"I thought something hit, like not a bullet, but something hit me, so I thought I’d just wipe it off or something and I didn’t know it was a bullet," Laneria added.

Shenedra Ross, Laneria's mother, was downstairs at the time of the incident. Ross described the moment she heard her daughter was hit: "My oldest daughter yelled out she’s hit! I’m like what? And I’m fixing to get off my bed and she’s like she’s hit!" Ross spoke about the emotional trauma affecting the family, particularly Laneria's sister, Lania, who witnessed the incident.

Ross, a lifelong resident of the North Side, expressed her reluctance to return to their house, which no longer feels safe to her. "Now my baby is in the hospital bed, I don’t ever want to take my kids back over there," said Ross.

The family has set up a GoFundMe for moving expenses. You can click here to donate.