3-year-old Tennessee boy dies after being struck with a stray bullet on New Year’s Eve

A 3-year-old boy who was hit with a stray bullet on New Year’s Eve has died, Memphis police confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time,” said Officer Christopher Williams, who added that the investigation is ongoing and that “investigators are working tirelessly and diligently to bring those responsible to justice.”

The child, named Brayden Smith, was injured after a bullet entered through the window of his Tennessee home, striking him on Sunday evening, reported CBS News affiliate WREG Memphis. Police say the family was celebrating  New Year’s Eve at home when Smith was struck by the bullet, which may have been celebratory fire, according to WREG. 

Celebratory gunfire is illegal in the city of Memphis, police said. 

He was transported to the hospital, where he remained in critical condition on life support before succumbing to his injuries.

“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,” Smith’s Grandmother Taysha Davis told WREG earlier this week.

Other children were injured by stray bullets on New Year’s Eve. An 11-year-old Minneapolis girl was in her bedroom on New Year’s Eve when a bullet came flying through her bedroom window minutes after midnight. She was hit in the face, her family said. A 10-year-old boy was shot in the stomach in St. Paul, Minnesota, police said, he will survive the shot.  

Researchers found firearm fatalities in children under age 18 from 2011 to 2021 increased by 87.1%, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention