Mother says man shot 13-month-old daughter in fit of rage after car crash

ATLANTA — UPDATE: Police say the suspect in the shooting has been arrested. Marcel Mayfield, 29, was arrested in northwest Atlanta. Mayfield was charged with aggravated assault with the intent to commit murder, aggravated battery, and other charges.

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A 13-month-old girl is recovering after a man in a fit of rage over a fender-bender fired at a car and shot her in the hand last week.

Raylah was in her car seat Oct. 6 when her mother's friend got in a minor accident while the toddler was in the back seat. The man whose car she hit started shooting, injuring Raylah, police said.

Police said they're still looking for the shooter.

Channel 2's Christian Jennings talked to the toddler's mother about what led to the shooting. For their safety, she requested we Jennings only use she and her daughter's first names.

Natika told Jennings that her friend was driving that afternoon. When they got in the area of Fletcher and Ira streets, her friend accidentally hit an SUV.

"The mirror fell out of it, and I'm, like, 'You just hit someone's car,'" Natika said.

Natika said a man in a nearby house came running outside with a gun and demanded money.

"He's, like, 'That's going to be $300.'" My friend is, like, 'I'm not going to be able to give you $300. Can we exchange insurance information?'"

Things escalated from there.

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"He was getting irate, and I asked him before everything was over, I was like, 'Don't shoot.' Because I saw him clutching for his gun in his satchel," Natika said. "I said, 'Don't shoot, my baby's in the car."

Her pleas didn't work: Police said the man started firing.

"All I could hear was gunshots coming from everywhere," Natika said.

She quickly realized her baby had been shot.

"My baby's full of blood, so I don't know if she's hit in the chest, but she's still not crying, so I didn't know if she was alive," Natika said.

Raylah had been shot in the hand. Her finger was broken. Natika and her friend headed for the hospital, but didn't make it.

"She feels the tires going out, because at this point the tires are shot out," Natika said. "It took us right off Fulton Street and it completely stopped as we were getting out. It actually caught fire."

Natika said they flagged down another driver and finally made it to a hospital.

Raylah is going to fully recover from her injuries.

Natika said the man who shot her daughter doesn't deserve to be out on the streets.

"I hope and pray he can at least turn himself in, or the police can do their job, stay on top of it and find him, because he clearly is a ticking time bomb," Natika said.

Police have not released a description of the suspect but said they do have leads.

Cox Media Group