A New Jersey man who fired the shot that hit a five-year-old boy in the face, gets 16 years behind bars.
According to The Star Ledger, gang member Jose Rodriguez was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the stray bullet that hit the young boy in the mouth.
Last January, while the child was walking home from school with his mother, he was struck by a bullet fired by Rodriguez’s gun. The boy’s mother, Shenta Ford, flagged down passing cars to drive her son to a nearby hospital, where the injured boy stayed for many days, the Asbury Park Press reports.
The Ledger also stated that Ford told the courtroom she forgave the gunman.
“I don't want to go around angry all the time. I don't want my son seeing that," she said.
She said her son has recovered mostly from the gunshot wound.
Rodriguez, a member of the Crips gang, said he fired the gun because he thought a rival Bloods gang member was going for his gun. His guilty plea was part of an agreement reached with prosecutors who recommended the sentence.