12-year-old shot three times, suspect on the loose

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – A 12-year-old girl is in the hospital recovering from gunshot wounds.

Family says Luxury Vance was spending the night at her cousin’s house near Fountain Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard on Saturday night when the two stepped outside and suddenly there were gunshots.

Vance is a rising star in the local basketball community, a key player for Cypress Lake Middle School. Her family fears her playing days may be over after this horrific tragedy.

“She was shot three times,” said Jean Davis, the victim’s aunt.

“Twice in the back, once in the arm,” Shirley Lias, her grandmother, said.

According to our partners at The News-Press, the family was sitting around outside when a man came up and began shooting. Vance was the only one hit.

“It’s one thing if criminals want to shoot each other but when innocent kids go getting involved, it becomes a sad case. It is time to be a voice for our kids,” said Davis.

“I know the gunman seen the kids out there. You have no respect, no remorse for nothing you do, you young men in Dunbar need to cut it out,” Lias pleaded.

Fort Myers Police Department (FMPD) says Vance was not the intended target in this shooting and the suspect is still out there.

Her grandmother says she’s sick of the violent crimes happening in Dunbar, and is desperate for answers as to who did this to her granddaughter.

“The thing they say out here in Dunbar is, ‘snitches is found in ditches.’ Well I want you to know, I’m going to snitch. I want to find out who shot my granddaughter. I’ll go in the ditch for my granddaughter,” said Lias.

Vance is now in good condition at the hospital.

Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for anyone with information that may lead to an arrest in this shooting. If you know anything, call Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).

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