9-Year-Old Girl Wounded By Stray Bullet In Car-To-Car Shooting Near Oxnard Elementary School

OXNARD (CBSLA) — A 9-year-old girl is expected to be OK after she was struck by a stray bullet Thursday morning from a car-to-car shooting while at her elementary school in Oxnard.

At about 11:20 a.m., Oxnard police responded to reports of a shooting victim at McAuliffe Elementary School, located at 3300 Via Marina Ave. Initial reports from the scene indicated that a student had been struck by gunfire while on the playground, and was then taken into a classroom.

Officers on the scene found a 9-year-old girl suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to her lower body. She was taken to a hospital and was last reported to be in stable condition as of Thursday night.

Witnesses in the area reported that two vehicles were driving erratically in the area of the school, with one apparently following the other, Oxnard police said. At one point, gunfire erupted and the occupants of one vehicle appeared to be shooting at the other vehicle. Police said they believe a stray bullet from the shooting struck the girl on the playground.

Police believe they located one of the involved vehicles in the Sea View Estates neighborhood, just north of the school. It was abandoned, however.

Following the shooting, the school was placed on lockdown for several hours before students were released to their parents.

The Oxnard School District issued the following statement on its Facebook page:

"At 11:30 this morning, the Oxnard Police Dept. received a call that there was a shooting that occurred off campus near McAuliffe School. One student was injured and suffered non-life threatening injuries. We are asking everyone to remain out of the area as it is still an ongoing investigation. We will release information on the re-unification process."

Anyone with information about the shooting was asked to call Det. Carey Everhart at 805-486-6228.