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A 13-year-old boy was shot in the leg in Cleveland.

(File photo)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 13-year-old boy was shot in the leg late Tuesday when he looked out his window after hearing gunfire in his neighborhood, police said.

The boy was shot about 10:45 p.m. on the second floor of his home in the 6000 block of Luther Avenue, between East 55th and East 66th streets.

The boy was talking with his sisters in their room about 10:30 p.m. when they heard gunshots outside their home, his mother said. His sisters are 8 and 12.

The boy, along with his 19-year-old brother, looked out the window and saw a man with a gun, police reports say. The gunman saw them, pointed the gun at them and fired a shot.

The bullet hit the 13-year-old boy in the right thigh, police reports say. He was taken to University Hospitals for treatment.

The boy's mother said one of her daughters ran into her room shouting that her brother had been shot.

"I freaked out for minute, because it's a child," said the woman who asked not to be identified. "At that point you don't know if it's fatal."

The boy's mother said she's still waiting to hear from doctors to see whether he will need surgery.

"It's traumatizing," she said. "It's definitely traumatizing. I'm still going through trauma. My son is traumatized. I've been there 10 years and I don't feel safe."

Police said they have identified a suspect in the shooting, but no charges have been filed as of Wednesday morning.

"Whoever did, go get 'em and take them off the street," she said. "It could someone else they get and the next time they might not be as lucky as me and live. I thank the man above for saving my son's life."

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