A 9-year-old boy in Brooklyn may have a bullet permanently lodged in his arm after being shot by a teenage bike thief. Ronnell Gurley discovered that his uncle's silver BMX bike had been stolen on Thursday afternoon (his cousins had allegedly taken it out, and it was stolen from outside of a convenience store in Brownsville), and he and his uncle set out to find the thieves. A few hours later they found the teens and demanded they returned the bike. According to Ronnell, one teen claimed he "runs this block," and pulled out a gun.
Ronnell recalled, "I heard, like, some firecrackers. Then I felt a pain on my shoulder and my arm." The bullet never exited his body, and doctors at Brookdale University Hospital say it's likely it will stay in his arm forever as it is too close to major arteries to remove. His mother told the Daily News, "He just wanted to make it right. It's not right to shoot somebody for nothing. It wasn't fair for them to take the bike and all he wanted to do was get it back - and then he got shot."
The 15-year-old shooter was arrested and charged with assault, among other things. Police also arrested the three other thieves, and charged them with possession of stolen property. Ronnell said he recognized the shooter, and had heard he was in a gang. He said, "I should have never went over there. I would just tell [other people] to stay away from them."
