The boy was hit when a gunman fired about four shots on Washington Avenue, police said. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

MORRISANIA — A 5-year-old boy was shot in the head by a stray bullet on his birthday when a gunman opened fire on a South Bronx Street in broad daylight Monday afternoon, officials said.

The boy, whose name wasn't immediately released, was being walked by his father to a waiting car outside 1138 Washington Ave., near East 167th Street, about 5:15 p.m., when a gunman fired about four shots at another man, missing and hitting the child instead, an NYPD spokeswoman said.

Video shows people scattering on the street after the gunfire erupted.

The boy, whose birthday was Monday, was first taken in a private vehicle to St. Barnabas Hospital in critical condition, the spokesman added. He was later transferred to New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan.

The gunman fled and wasn't immediately arrested, police said.

There were no other reported injuries, police said.

It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the shooting.