12 year old girl shot in Crown Heights

New York - WABC, August 27, 2007) - An innocent bystander -- a 12-year-old girl -- was caught in the middle of gunfire and shot by a stray bullet Monday night, according to authorities.

It happened while she was walking across the street on Saint Mark's Avenue in the Crown Heights section.
Eyewitness News reporter Jeff Rossen has the story.

Police brought out the dogs Monday night to track the scent of a gunman -- a gunman who shot a little girl in her side and didn't look back.

"I looked out and sure enough she was bleeding," an eyewitness said.

In fact, the 12-year-old girl ran down the street bleeding before she found one of her neighbors.

"So she felt it was safe to speak to me and she knew that I would help her," neighbor Mekita Coe said.

So Mekita called 911 and helped to stop the bleeding. Meanwhile, detectives rushed to the scene to find the shooter.

"I just seen him running up the block ... he was running after someone," an eyewitness told us.

Police don't know who did the shooting or why. The girl who was shot is in stable condition at the hospital. The gunman is still on the loose.