Boy Hit By a Stray Bullet

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By Lena Vargas

Summary

A seven year old boy was shot at Hover Park this weekend. Today that bullet was removed from his leg. The Benton County Sheriff's Office says they had a similiar incident in November of 2008.

Story Published: Mar 15, 2010 at 5:38 PM PST

Boy Hit By a Stray Bullet
FINLEY— A seven year old boy was shot at Hover Park this weekend. Today that bullet was removed from his leg.

Matthew Cardena's dad, Anastasio called KEPR Action News to tell us about the scary moment.

He says he and his family were riding ATV’s and had just stopped for lunch when they heard a shot and then Matthew's cry.

In his X-ray, you can see how the bullet hit him high in the back of the leg and got stuck in his thigh. Anastasio says his wife, Amber helped stop the bleeding immediately after it happened.

"It could have been worst. It could have hit him in the spine and he'd be a cripple for the rest of his life. Or it could have hit him in the head, and he'd be dead. So I thank God it hit him in the leg,” said Anastasio.

Matthew's mom, Marisol is a nurse assistant. She also says it could have been worst if the bullet would have hit an organ.

The Benton County Sheriff's Department says this sort of thing has happened at least once before at the park. Deputies think these are stray bullets from a private shooting range behind the hills. They can only prosecute if they find the person responsible.