3-year-old hit by stray bullet on life support, family wants justice

Melissa Moon
·2 min read
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MEMPHIS, Tenn. –The grandmother of a toddler hit by a stray bullet on New Year’s Eve is asking the shooter to surrender to police.

Taysha Davis said her three-year-old grandson Brayden Smith is on life support at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital after being shot at her apartment Sunday night in Northeast Memphis.

New Year’s Eve shooting injures man in Southeast Memphis

“It’s not looking good,” Davis said.

Police responded to the shooting at the Edgewater Apartments just before 6 p.m. Investigators haven’t said where the gunfire came from but believe the shots were fired during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“We thought it was fireworks, and we realized it was gunfire. We turned around and looked back, and Brayden was on the floor,” said Davis.

Davis said Brayden’s six-year-old brother was also inside the apartment when a bullet pierced her front window. She said Brayden was shot in the head, and his mother and other family members have been by his bedside ever since.

Davis said she forgives the person who shot her grandson but said they need to do the right thing and contact the police.

“Brayden was three. He’s a baby. I don’t have my grandson, my daughter doesn’t have her son. He’s on life support. Turn yourself in,” said Davis.

Memphis murder map: Homicides in 2023

Assistant Police Chief Don Crowe, who showed up at the crime scene Sunday, warned citizens that celebratory gunfire is illegal in Memphis.

“Do not shoot guns for celebration. The bullets will come down somewhere, and if those bullets come down and hit a person, it will injure a person. It is a crime to shoot a gun in celebratory gunfire,” said Crowe.

Child gun violence is on the rise in Memphis and the Mid-South. In 2023, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital treated more than 170 children for gunshot wounds. The previous record was 158, set back in 2021.

More children than ever treated for gunshot wounds at Le Bonheur

If you have any information regarding this incident, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.

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