8 Year Old Hit By Stray Bullet

An 8-year-old Jackson girl is shot in the head, while doing homework at a local Boys and Girls Club. Officials are not releasing her name. She was transported to University Medical Center, where she underwent surgery to relieve pressure on her brain. Sources tell us doctors will closely monitor her condition for the next three to seven days. They can't remove the bullet until the swelling goes down.

Police say the the stray bullet passed through three walls and hit the girl in the side of the head. They're looking for at least two men who were seen with an assault rifle in Sykes Park, which is next to the club. The shooting happened around 2:30pm on Thursday at the Boys and Girls Club on Sykes Street. Investigators say 172 children were inside the club at the time of the shooting.

"I was putting the tail light on my truck, and I heard four shots, and next thing I know, police start pulling up there," said Benny Johnson, who lives across the street from the club.

First responders say the young girl was conscious and talking when they took her to the hospital. Despite the shooting, Boys and Girls Club officials say they would rather have kids doing their homework at their clubs than roaming the streets.

"I'm glad [police are] here because they're going to find whoever did this, and I hope they get full punishment," said Billy Redd, president of the Central Mississippi Boys and Girls Clubs. "You don't harm any one of our kids anywhere in the city."

Many families throughout Jackson rely on the Boys and Girls Club for after-school programs. Even police recognize the club as an important organization in the community.

"The Boys and Girls Club is a safe place to be," said Assistant Police Chief Lee Vance. "There's no place on Earth that is 100 percent foolproof."

But many parents are visibly shaken by this tragedy.

"I feel for the child's parents," said Sheritta McCaskill, who has two boys attending the club on Sykes Street. "I can imagine how scared they probably are right now because I can tell you that I was scared hat something could have happened to one of my boys."

We're told the 8-year-old girl hit by the bullet is a student at Sykes Elementary School.