Memphis, TN - Three young people, including a 3 month-old baby, were injured in a blaze of bullets Monday afternoon in the 12-hundred block of Fiber Street in Southwest Memphis.
"It's messed up," says Sherry Jefferson, a relative of the injured kids. "It's messed up! You got innocent people out here."
Memphis Police say a guy driving a black Pontiac Grand Prix pulled up in front of 1204 Fiber, got out and robbed 17 year-old Darius Aldridge at gunpoint. Cops say the accused robber then jumped back in his car and drove off.
"It started out as an armed robbery," says MPD Lt. Don Ross, "but minutes later the car drives back up occupied this time by three individuals who opened fire."
Investigators say Darius Aldridge was hit in the leg. His 15 year-old cousin, Everette Aldridge, was shot in the chest. And Darius' 3 month-old son, Darius Aldridge Jr., who was in Everette's arms at the time, was grazed in the ear by a bullet.
Family members are furious.
"I hope they do the time," Sherry Jefferson says of the gunmen. "I hope they do time because they hit innocent bystanders. Don't shoot at the children. The children are innocent."
Police officers collected six shell casings at the scene. They say at least two people in the car opened fire on the group, using a .22 and a .380 to carry out their assault.
DeWana Aldridge, Everette's sister, rushed to The Med to check on her baby brother.
"I spoke to him," she says, "and he's doing o.k. He's probably going to have to have surgery because the bullet is two inches from his heart."
Another relative, LaPortia Jefferson, checked on the baby at LeBonheur.
"They ran tests on him and they're going to fix his ear," Jefferson says. "I guess they're going to run an x-ray and stitch his ear back up."
Investigators say Darius Aldridge told them he didn't know the guy who robbed him or recognize anyone else in the car. Neither the victims nor neighbors who witnessed the drive-by were able to get a tag number.
Family members say whoever took aim at two teenagers and a baby needs to be behind bars.
"Whoever did it," says LaPortia Jefferson, "they need to find that person because that's dead wrong what they done."
"They just took actions before they looked to see who was out there," says Sherry Jefferson. "And it wasn't right. It wasn't right at all. There were innocent babies out there."
Late Monday night, all three victims were still in the hospital in non-critical condition.