AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department has arrested a 17-year-old boy accused of shooting a toddler during a gun purchase.
Ivan Hernandez is facing an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge for his involvement in the shooting, which occurred on Sept. 21.
According to an arrest affidavit, a man had agreed to meet with Hernandez to purchase a gun at a home on Purple Sage Drive in Central East Austin.
A woman accompanying the man, along with her two children, stayed in the car during the gun purchase. At some point during the interaction, Hernandez "reached across his body and into his pocket as if he were pulling out a gun," the woman told detectives.
In response, the man punched Hernandez, knocked him to the ground and ran to his car. Hernandez then got up off the ground, pointed a gun toward the back of the car where the children were sitting and fired off several rounds, according to the affidavit.
A 2-year-old girl sitting in the back of the car was shot in the leg and foot area, police said. The family drove away and called 911 in the parking lot of dd's Discounts on Ed Bluestein Boulevard.
Medics took the toddler to the hospital in serious, but not expected to be life-threatening, condition, according to Austin-Travis County EMS. Doctors removed the bullet, drained the swelling in her foot and provided her with stitches and antibiotics for infection control.
At the scene of the crime, officers found six bullet casings, which were consistent with the bullet doctors recovered from the girl's foot, police said.
On Sept. 22, detectives identified Hernandez, and a warrant for his arrest was issued on Sept. 28. He was booked into the Travis County Jail on Sept. 30. A judge set his bond at $100,000. As of Oct. 1, he remained in jail.
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