No charges expected in shooting of 7-year-old Birmingham girl

Nina Smith

The weekend shooting of a 7-year-old girl in Birmingham was an accident and no charges will be filed in connection with the incident, family and police said Wednesday.

Nina Smith, an Oliver Elementary School second-grader, was at her father's Gate City home Sunday afternoon with her older brothers and sisters and an adult when her 14-year-old sibling was handling the gun and Nina was shot. The bullet went through Nina's shoulder and exited her side, but not before causing multiple internal injuries.

Birmingham homicide Sgt. John Tanks confirmed the evidence was presented to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office which deemed the shooting accidental. According to the evidence, the 14-year-old got a hold of the gun and removed the clip. There was, however, still a round in the chamber and Nina was shot.

Nina's mother, Elizabeth Williams, said she is displeased that charges won't be filed. "It was not an accident,'' she said. "I'm going to fight it."

The shooting happened Sunday afternoon while Nina was visiting her father, but he wasn't home at the time. Nina was there with several of her older siblings on her father's side including the 14-year-old, a 15-year-old, a 17-year-old and the 17-year-old's girlfriend. An adult was also at the home. Nina's mother, Elizabeth Williams, said the gun was brought into the home by one of the sibling's friends.

After Nina was injured, someone put her in a vehicle and tried to rush her to the hospital but crashed at the intersection of Montclair Road and Gaywood Circle. Officers from the nearby Mountain Brook Police Department arrived on the scene first after witnessing the car, traveling at a high rate of speed, crash. The officers went to the vehicle to help and quickly realized Nina had been shot.

Nina's gall bladder had to be removed and her lungs are punctured. She also has some stomach injuries. "She's breathing but it's not as strong as they want it to be she she's on a breathing tube,'' Williams said. "She has on a neck brace from the wreck, but they don't think she's injured from that."

Her condition is improving, and she has been moved out ICU and into a stepdown unit. She is expected to remain hospitalized for possibly a couple of weeks. "She's agitated and she can't sleep,'' Williams said Wednesday.

Williams said she believes someone should be held accountable for her daughter's injuries. "An accident is a 5-year-old with a gun, not a 14-year-old,'' she said. "I'm going to get justice for my baby."

In a previous interview, Williams said she wants Nina's shooting to be a reminder to all who have and handle guns.

"Having a gun in the house is not safe,'' she said. "It's always the innocent person standing by who gets shot. It's never the person holding the gun. I don't think guns should be allowed."

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