Cape Town - A Leonsdale, Elsies River, toddler will be undergoing a second surgery after she was hit by a gang bullet which ruptured her jaw and ripped through her tongue.
Jaylin Alexander, 2, was struck in the face by a stray bullet while standing in the yard of her 12th Avenue home during a drive-by shooting.
Jaylin’s aunt, Evlyn Alexander, said she visited the little girl and her mother, Carmen, at Red Cross Hospital where she was told the child would be going for a second surgery.
“Jaylin opened her eyes, but her whole mouth is open and we can see a part of her tongue is gone. Her mother is broken and cried the whole day,” she said.
“Jaylin is still in ICU and the doctors are going to try and (fix) her mouth (on Wednesday). She is in a lot of pain and you can see she is upset because there are tears, but she can’t make any sound with her mouth.”
Witnesses said last Thursday's shooting was carried out by a taxi filled with gunmen. They said they saw the vehicle drive by and heard gunshots and later discovered that Jaylin and her uncle, Shafiek Kolbie, 32, had been hit.
Kolbie died after being shot in the chest.
No arrests have been made yet.