Bullet goes through house, hits teenage boy

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ELKHART, Ind. -- The search is on for the suspect who opened fire in an Elkhart neighborhood, and sent bullets flying into a home where one of the bullets hit a teenage boy.

Neighbors on Garfield Avenue tell ABC 57 News they are worried for the 13-year-old victim and are praying for him to make a full recovery.

“People need to stop. Put the guns down and stop. Because there’s not only people getting killed, there’s little kids getting killed,” said Sonya Jackson of Elkhart.

Independence Day is a day many of us spend with family, and a night culminated with fireworks.

But for a 13-year-old boy who lives on Garfield Avenue, the holiday ended with a bullet in his side and a trip to Memorial Hospital in South Bend.

Jackson says it's "sad that innocent kids get shot like that.”

Elkhart Police confirm that the teen was shot Wednesday night while neighbors were setting off fireworks in the street.

According to Elkhart Police, the boy was lying on the couch in his living room when the bullet came in from the outside, going through a wall and into the house where it hit his side.

Some on Garfield Avenue may not have even known the noises outside were the sounds of gunshots.

Sonya Jackson says she believes the neighbors thought the sounds were fireworks, until the boy realized he was hit.

Elkhart residents like Leon Sieg wish “people would grow up.”

Sieg and others are outraged at the fact the 13-year-old was shot inside his own home.

“That is just ridiculous. I don’t understand why people have to shoot guns. You should never shoot a gun around town or the city,” said Sieg.

Still, residents are hopeful the victim will get justice.

“Thank God [the teen] isn’t dead. Hopefully they find the person that did this and they can live up to the responsibility of what they did," said Sieg. "It’s just not right."

Police officers have not released any information on a suspect and say the investigation is ongoing.

There have been more patrols around the area, presumably as a precaution.

If you have any information on this shooting, you are urged to contact the Elkhart Police Department.

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