7-year-old struck by stray bullet is fighting for her life

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — The family of a 7-year-old girl who was shot over the weekend is begging for the shooter to come forward.

Police say Mariasia Thomas was sitting on a couch when she was shot after a gunman opened fire at her DeKalb County foster home.

The gunfire erupted around 11 p.m. Friday at the home along Satellite Boulevard in Ellenwood.

Thomas was shot in the head over the weekend in DeKalb and her family is waiting for brain tests to be done to determine if she will survive.

"She was an innocent little girl just watching TV on the couch," said her biological mother, Chanrica Boyd. "I'm really sad. I'm lost. It's still unreal that this is my child that was shot up in this house due to something that wasn't even involving her."

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Mariasia was in DFCS custody and under the care of a foster mother at the time of the Friday night shooting in Ellenwood.

Her family said the state took her away two years ago while her mother secured housing.

Mariasia's aunt said she just moved into a new apartment and attempted to inform dfcs right before the shooting.

"Nobody ever called me. I was involved in a car accident and a week later, we're here today," Kiya Caldwell said.

Channel 2's Matt Johnson reached out to DFCS on Wednesday evening but was not able to reach anyone.

Mariasia had been in the foster home for only two weeks but her aunt said she should have been with her family.

"She wouldn't be there, she wouldn't have been there to have suffered a traumatic situation like this," Boyd said.

But most of the family's focus is on praying for a miraculous recovery and for the shooter to end up in jail.

"Who could just go shoot up a house knowing who's in the house? What's going on? Nothing. My child was just really just up for no reason," Boyd said.

Police have not released any new information about the shooting or whether they're close to an arrest.

Anyone with information is urged to call DeKalb County police.

Cox Media Group