5-year-old girl shot in Baltimore four months after sister, 7, was gunned down

Josh Hafner | USA TODAY

Baltimore's deadly violence took another tragic turn this week for one heartbroken family: A 5-year-old girl shot in crossfire while holding her doll is reportedly the sister of a 7-year-old fatally gunned down earlier this year.

Police believe the younger girl became caught in a shootout between suspects in a vehicle and on foot Monday evening in west Baltimore, according to local stations, including WBAL-TV.

Shot in the groin, she lay on the sidewalk until a resident found her and took her to the hospital, according to the station. There, she was reportedly speaking with doctors ahead of an operation and is expected to survive.

The girl, identified as Amy Hayes, is related to Taylor Hayes, the 7-year-old killed after a bullet pierced her back as she sat in a Honda Accord in July, according to the Baltimore Sun. The two girls share a father, WBAL-TV reported, noting that Taylor's mother, Shanika Robinson, posted a lament to Facebook on Monday night.

"Hey Amy baby, Taylor got you," Robinson said. "You most definitely going to be good. This can't be life. My (baby's) sister."

The 5-year-old was walking to a corner store when the shooting occurred, according to the Sun. The toy doll she was holding remained face-down on the street an hour later as part of a crime scene.

Baltimore's widespread "no snitching" culture – which pressures people not to cooperate with police – could pose problems to investigators hoping to identify the 5-year-old's shooter, as it did with Taylor earlier this year, the Sun noted.

"Only a pure coward would shoot a baby and leave her in the street!" said Baltimore City Councilman Brandon Scott in a tweet Monday night.

Baltimore's homicide rate is well above any other major American city, FBI statistics show, with 342 homicides this year in a city of about 615,000 residents.

Gunshot wounds send more than 8,300 children and teenagers in the U.S. to emergency rooms each year, a study from Johns Hopkins University found.

More: Guns send over 8,300 children and teens to hospitals yearly