A 9-year-old boy in Atlanta is now in the difficult process of recovery after being shot while he was asleep during a drive-by shooting early Saturday morning. Responding to the incident at a home on Meadowlane Circle around 4 a.m., Atlanta Police have initiated an investigation which, according to FOX 5 Atlanta, suggests the violent event involved an exchange of gunfire between suspects and the boy's relatives.

In the chaos that unfolded in the dark of the night, surveillance video obtained by FOX 5 Atlanta revealed that two cars pulled up to the house at approximately 3:45 a.m., from which several individuals emerged and began shooting.

The aftermath of the shooting saw the young victim's movement back to his home, carrying within his body a bullet too dangerous to remove immediately. As stated in an interview with the boy's aunt by NewsNation, "They said the bullet had went through his back and into his leg and the bullet is located close to a large artery, and if they removed it then he might not be able to walk. So, they have to give it a couple of weeks to monitor the bullet traveling so they can see if they can get him some surgery."

While the boy is already home from Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and despite the investigation actively being pursued by the police, no information about the suspects has yet been released. The poignant words of a child unable to comprehend the gravity of his own bleeding wounds echo in the simple statement he gave FOX 5 Atlanta, "I was just crying because I was bleeding, and I didn’t know they were gunshots." Neighbors have speculated about a tragic case of mistaken identity, believing the shooters intended a different target, an identical house nearby at the center of recent incidents, an assumption made by the boy's aunt as well. Nevertheless, the police have not confirmed this theory.