JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A relative of a 14-year-old girl who was shot in the chest on the Northside on Monday told News4Jax her family has no hard feelings toward the 13-year-old boy charged in connection with the shooting, but it does have questions about where the boy got the gun.
The incident happened at Canopy Creek Apartments on Harts Road. As of Wednesday, the girl, Ziya Skeith, remained at the hospital.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the 13-year-old boy, who News4Jax is not naming, admitted to bringing the gun to the apartment complex, running from the scene after the shooting and trying to hide the gun in the woods. He has not been charged with shooting Ziya, but he has been charged with possession of a firearm by a minor, tampering with evidence and resisting arrest.
Ziya's relatives said they are thanking God that she is recovering, but they are frustrated by the number of guns in the hands of teenagers.
Ziya's aunt, Sharon Kirkland-Vaughn, said she is now working with the Jacksonville chapter of MAD DADS.
She said that when she got the call about the shooting, she rushed over to the hospital, fearing the worst.
"Of course we were worried about the situation. How was she going to get through this? But God is so good, because I went to see her yesterday and she is sitting up and she has the breathing tube out and she's looking good," Kirkland-Vaughn said. “She's not talking right now, but she was glad to see us yesterday.”
Kirkland-Vaughn described the last 72 hours as a roller coaster of emotions for her and the rest of her niece's family.
She said her family has been questioning where the teen got the gun.
MAD DADS chapter president Donald Foy had similar questions.
“We're angry that a 14-year-old has been shot, something that's going to be traumatic in her life for the rest of her life,” Foy said.
Foy said he's thankful the girl survived, but now the bigger questions are where are teens getting guns and how can Jacksonville stop it?
“We've had that incident. We've had the 16-year-old with a gun that did the kidnapping. We had a small child down in Palatka that picked up the gun and shot his mom through the seat, that happened. We had another one that a 15-year-old killed a 22-month-old baby. You know?” Foy said, citing recent incidents of teen gun violence in Northeast Florida. “What do we do to stop these guns from getting in their hands?”
Foy said not enough is being done to keep young people out of trouble. There have been multiple forums in the city on how to combat and stop crime, but Foy said there's too much talking and not enough solutions from city leaders.
“We've been trying to get mentors from them for years. That hasn't happened,” Foy said. “We've got to go past that. We've got to get involved in our community and get our community involved, and we have to get angry enough that we do something about it.”
Kirkland-Vaughn echoed that sentiment.
“We have a lot of people in the community saying that they're going to do this and do that and they're not coming behind the four walls,” she said. “They need to come out in the community and let people know that we care about them. We've got a lot of young men that need help.”
Kirkland-Vaughn said the family of the 13-year-old boy hasn't contacted Ziya's family.
"We're not angry with them. We're not angry. We just have to pray through this and God will fix it,” Kirkland-Vaughn said.
Ziya's relatives said they will continue to focus on the recovery of their loved one. She is expected to remain in the hospital at least a week.