4-Year-Old Injured In North Charlotte Shooting

CHARLOTTE, N.C.,None — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are still looking for two men responsible for an attempted armed robbery in North Charlotte Sunday morning that left one little girl with permanent damage to her hand.

Giselle Espinoza's stitches and cuts were hidden underneath her bandages when Eyewitness News sat down with Giselle and her mother but the pain in Giselle's eyes was evident.

"She's always going to remember what happened. I just hope it doesn't affect her," said Delfina Espinoza, the girl's mother.

Doctors said the 4-year-old has permanent damage to her ring, middle, and index fingers on her left hand. Espinoza said her daughter will have to re-learn how to hold things tightly in her hand.

Giselle's grandmother Margarita Rebollar lives at a trailer park off Orr Road in North Charlotte. She said she was about to drive Giselle, her 8-year-old brother, and 5-year-old cousin home early Sunday morning, when she was approached by two men wearing ski mask, demanding money.

She drove away, and then heard several gunshots. The glass window of the minivan broke, seriously injuring Giselle.

"She says she thought the worst, she thought they probably shot [Giselle] or something, but she couldn't stop because she was driving, she was trying to get away as fast as she could," said Margarita Rebollar, translated by her cousin Karen Rodriguez.

"She was just crying and scared; so much blood was coming out from her hand. She was just scared, she was just crying for her mother," Rodriguez continued.

Delfina Espinoza said police told her the men had left a party just a few blocks away from the trailer park, but the party turned violent.

Police said someone started shooting, and a teenage girl was shot in the leg.

Espinoza said she thinks the shootings are connected and hopes an arrest is made soon.

"I can't imagine why they would do that knowing there were kids around," she said. "They should have stopped before doing that, because that really affects the kids."

Delfina's husband Hugo Sanchez was gunned down outside their home on Owen Boulevard two years ago in January.

When she saw her daughter's bloody hands, she said she was worried she would also lose her little girl.

"Their dad passed away, and then now seeing this happen to her, I just, I can't explain it," she said.

Espinoza said she's thankful her daughter is alive but added it's an incident that'll stay with her for life.

Giselle Espinoza will have an appointment with a hand specialist next week, and then will begin physical therapy at the end of the month.

Eyewitness News asked police if they think the same men behind Giselle's injuries also shot that 17-year-old girl earlier in the night, but they didn't give us an answer Sunday night.

Police said they don't have a good suspect description. The two men were wearing ski masks when they tried to rob the minivan and were last seen running away on foot along Orr Road.

WSOC