9-year-old boy shot in St. Cloud, father says son out of hospital

St. Cloud Police said a 9-year-old boy was shot and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries Saturday night.

The boy’s father, who did not want to be identified, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS his son suffered a minor gunshot wound to the leg and is home resting now.

"I heard a pop and went running to him on the outside porch when I heard him in pain," the boy’s father said. "Who would shoot a 9-year-old? I mean who would do something like that? What’s going on?"

The boy’s dad told KSTP that police think it could have been a drive-by shooting with only one shot fired. They are looking for a white four-door sedan.

"My son was helping his mom bring in the groceries from the car parked out on the street," the father said. "He was in front of her and was shot before he could get to the door, and no one knows why this happened."

Olivia Johnson lives across the street and told KSTP she heard a loud bang and originally thought it was a car backfiring, and then she heard a lot of commotion.

"When I got up and looked outside I could see the mom running toward the boy yelling, ‘My son has been shot’," Johnson said. "So as soon as I realized what happened I called 911."

St. Cloud Police are looking for the public’s assistance to help locate the shooter, or shooters, responsible for the incident.