Memphis girl, 4, wailed ‘I’m bleeding, dad’ after being shot in the NECK during road rage incident when her parents accidentally cut off another driver
- Itali Oakley, 4, was hit by bullet fragments in the neck outside her grandmother’s Memphis home on Friday
- Itali was in her parents’ car heading to dinner when road rage incident occurred
- Car Itali was in accidentally cut off another vehicle, prompting someone inside to open fire
- Itali told her father she did not feel well, then touched her neck and said, ‘I’m bleeding’
- Girl’s father held her in his arms and begged, ‘Itali, don’t go to sleep’
- Itali underwent surgery and was put on ventilator to help her recover
A four-yea-old girl from Tennessee is clinging to life on a ventilator after being shot in the neck while riding in her family’s car during a road-rage incident last week.
The parents of Itali Oakley said they were heading to dinner on Friday night in East Memphis when they inadvertently cut off another driver.
According to the family, someone in that other vehicle opened fire in retaliation, striking the four-year-old.
The incident took place in the 1000 block of South Perkins Avenue just before 9pm.
Itali Oakley, 4, from Memphis, was left clinging to life on a ventilator following a road-rage shooting. Itali was struck by bullet fragments in the neck
The incident took place in the 1000 block of South Perkins Avenue in Memphis just before 9pm on Friday
Itali was in her parents’ car heading to dinner when the road rage incident occurred outside her grandmother’s home
Charlene Dearing, Itali’s grandmother, said she was supposed to go to dinner with the rest of the family, but then she changed her mind and decided to go to bed.
Five minutes later, she said she was jolted awake by loud noises outside, which she initially mistook for the sounds of a car crash.
Moments later, Dearing sad she heard her daughter banging on the door and yelling for her to call 911.
Dearing said when her granddaughter was struck by bullet fragments in the neck, she told her father, ‘Dad, I don’t feel good.’ The child then touched her neck and exclaimed, ‘I’m bleeding, dad.’
According to the grandmother, while the family were waiting for an ambulance to arrive, Itali’s father was holding her in his arms and begging her: ‘Itali, please don’t go to sleep. Don’t go to sleep. Don’t go to sleep.’
Charlene Dearing (far left), Itali’s grandmother, said she was supposed to go to dinner with the rest of the family, but she changed her mind and decided to go to bed. Itali is pictured with her grandma and mom (right)
The car Itali was in was said to have accidentally cut off another vehicle, prompting someone inside to open fire. Itali told her father (right) she did not feel well, then touched her neck and said, ‘I’m bleeding, dad’
Itali underwent surgery and was put on a ventilator to help her recover
Itali was eventually taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and spent seven hours in surgery, after which she was put on a ventilator.
On Monday, Dearing said that her granddaughter’s condition has been improving.
Police said the suspect or suspects fled the scene of the road-rage shooting in a dark-colored sedan. so far, no arrests have been made.
Dearing said she is praying for the shooter who nearly killed her granddaughter.
‘I pray that God heals your heart,’ she said. ‘I pray he heals your family as well because that’s somebody’s child.’
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