Two sisters, ages 6 and 14, were wounded Wednesday afternoon during a drive-by shooting as one of them played hopscotch outside their Denver apartment complex.
At least five shots were fired by people inside a light gray Dodge automobile as it cruised through the parking lot of the Dispersed North East housing projects in the 2500 block of East 37th Avenue.
The girls were not the intended target, said Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman.
Jayzmine Padilla, 6, was struck in the leg.
Karina Padilla, 14, heard the shots, went outside to help her little sister and was shot in the lower abdomen. Their names were supplied by a family member.
“She fell and hit the ground,” neighbor Beyonca Parker said of the 6-year-old. “The baby did not know no better. She was trying to get up and run in the house through the … gunfire.”
Rogelio Padilla, 16, was at home with his sisters when the shooting happened. He was watching TV upstairs at the time.
“I heard four to five gunshots, and my sister was yelling, ‘Call the cops!”‘ Rogelio said.
He grabbed Jayzmine and put her legs up to keep her blood flowing while Karina called 911.
“She said that it hurted,” Rogelio said about his youngest sister as he fought back tears after the shooting.
The girls were taken to Children’s Hospital, where they were in good condition late Wednesday, said Denver police spokeswoman Virginia Quiñones.
Whitman went to the hospital to offer his support to the girls’ mother, who was at work when the shooting occurred.
The mother was accompanied by her 24-year-old cousin, Bernice Tarin.
“I’m scared,” Tarin said outside the emergency room. “I haven’t gotten to see them yet, but I hear my 14-year-old cousin has a chip in her pelvis. … It’s scary.”
Parker, who has lived at the projects for six months, said the Dodge pulled into the parking lot of the complex about 1:45 p.m.
The car stopped near where several young men were standing, in close proximity to where the 6-year-old was playing.
The men standing outside called out to the Dodge, “What’s up?” Parker said.
“They did not say nothing,” Parker said. “It was just like two guns going off. It was a lot, like 10 shots going really fast. It sounded like two people shooting.”
Parker said she did not actually see any guns but saw smoke in the air after the shots were fired.
The young men inside the Dodge did not speed away but drove calmly out of the parking lot and turned east on 37th Avenue, Parker said.
One 14-year-old witness recalled that she heard the sound of laughter coming from the car after the shooting. She said the young men inside the car were wearing black head bands.
“They were just riding like it was a pretty day,” Parker said.
Several children were playing outside when the shots rang out because Denver Public Schools are closed this week for spring break.
One green and pink flip-flop shoe and a hopscotch board drawn by Jayzmine in colored chalk were on the back patio along with blood stains leading into the girls’ apartment.
“This touches the heart of everyone due to the maliciousness and disregard to human life,” Quiñones said. “Due to these idiots, these children were hurt.”
Whitman said the shooting may be gang-related, but officers continued to investigate a motive.
Just two weeks ago, 17-year- old Jennifer Mitchell says a car like the one in Wednesday’s shooting had driven through the complex and shot out a sliding- glass door and a window in her apartment.
“We are pursuing this pretty aggressively,” Whitman said. “This is a priority for us right now.”
The Dodge was described as having tinted windows and a light blue Colorado license plate with the numbers 4 and 7.
Neighbors said a darker gray sedan followed the car from the scene of the shooting, but police could not confirm that information.
A gray 2004 Dodge Stratus apparently used in the shooting was found abandoned about 7:30 p.m. in the 3400 block of Forest Street, said Detective John White, a Denver police spokesman. The car had been reported stolen in Denver several days ago, he said. Investigators were processing the car for evidence, he added.
Wednesday’s shooting marks the second time in less than a year that children were wounded in a drive-by shooting. On Aug. 21, two girls, ages 7 and 12, were shot by a high-powered rifle as they slept near Osceola Street and West First Avenue in Denver. The girls recovered from their injuries.
Staff writers Allison Sherry and Manny Gonzales contributed to this report.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-820-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
