9-Year-Old Girl Waiting To See Easter Bunny Gets Shot Thrice Inside Mall, Survives

A 9-year-old girl waiting in line to have her pictures clicked with the Easter Bunny was shot inside a California mall. A shoe store owner who was aiming at two shoplifters accidentally struck the child. He was arrested in Nevada a few hours after the Tuesday shooting.

The young girl, Ava Chruniak, was at the Mall of Victor Valley in Victorville with her relatives when the incident took place, according to the New York Post. The girl was waiting in line for a picture with the Easter Bunny when gunfire broke out just a few yards away.

Marqel Cockrell, 20, the store co-owner of Sole Addicts inside the mall, allegedly fired shots at two shoplifters who were running away with his products. Ava was struck by three stray bullets from Cockrell's gun.

“His shots missed the intended target which [was] two suspects running out of his store with merchandise and struck the 9-year-old victim," said San Bernardino County Sheriff Public Information Officer Gloria Huerta, according to NBC LA.

A Stacy's clothing store employee, Carlon, said he captured the chaos on video and said Ava and her family rushed into the back room of the store.

"She was sitting down and we had some towels over her so she wouldn't see the blood and get too scared, and we just told her, 'you are going to be OK, you're doing really good,'" Carlon told the outlet.

The little girl was rushed to the hospital and is now reportedly in stable condition. She had sustained three gunshot wounds, two of which were in the arm, her grandmother, Robin Moraga-Saldarelli told NBC LA.

Cockrell fled the scene, but cops tracked him down in Nevada several hours later. The store owner was arrested and charged with attempted murder.

"I'm glad they caught him and he will definitely pay for this. I really hope they throw the book at him because you can't go shooting in a mall especially when there's a lot of children in there with the Easter Bunny," the child's grandmother told the publication.

Ava’s family described her as a “sweet loving girl” and set up a GoFundMe page following the shooting. They hope to raise enough funds to help offset the medical expenses.

“No little girl deserves this! No child deserves this,” the family wrote on the page. “ ... We would really love any donations to help our baby girl with her recovery journey ... ”