Boy Recovers After Being Shot; Police Release Sketch Of Shooter

A young boy was shot in the neck while riding his bike. Friends say he's an innocent victim.

He was hit back in June and now police have a sketch of a possible suspect. News 9 is told the 12-year-old was riding his bike in the parking lot near his father's snow cone stand.

The good news is the boy is doing better, but those close to this family said things could have been much worse.

It's being called a classic case of being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. About 10 p.m. June 12, police were called out to a parking lot at SW 59 Street and Agnew. A 12-year-old boy was shot in the neck by an unknown shooter.

“He was just kind of caught in the middle of gunfire that was aimed toward somebody else, completely, in the parking lot,” neighbor Michael Pipher said. 

Pipher, 18, said no one would want to harm his neighbor and friend, or the boy's family.

“When I first heard it, my heart sank, because, like, if that happened to my little brother, I don’t know what I would do,” Pipher said.

Friends think the boy was caught in the crossfire.

“He was actually working with his dad at the snow cone stand, and they were wrapping it up and he wanted to go play football, and ride his bicycle with his brother and cousins,” neighbor Brandee French said.

The family lives about five miles away from the scene of the shooting in a south Oklahoma City neighborhood. 

“It’s so close to home, and we knew him personally, and we were close to him,” French said.

French has been visiting her young neighbor as he continues his recovery in the hospital.

“He’s doing better. He’s still not back to himself of course, but his mindset is really good, and he’s got the mindset to recover fully hopefully,” she said. 

Through witness statements, investigators have been able to create a composite sketch of a suspect.

“It’s a selfless act pretty much, not thinking about the consequences,” French said.

While the boy is recovering, the parents are still concerned for the safety of their family.

“Whoever expects that to happen, you know. The kid didn’t deserve it," Pipher said. "Nobody deserves that.”

Anyone with information about this man in the composite sketch is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (405) 235-7300.