A man accused of shooting at a car that sideswiped his vehicle and injuring a 13-month-old sitting in the backseat was denied bond in court Wednesday, officials said.
A Fulton County Magistrate Court judge ruled that Marcell Mayfield, 29, will remain in jail, authorities said. He will next appear in court Nov. 6 for a preliminary hearing.
Atlanta police and the U.S. Marshals took Mayfield into custody Tuesday in connection with the shooting, according to police spokesman Officer Anthony Grant.
It happened Oct. 6 at the intersection of Ira and Fletcher streets in southwest Atlanta, AJC.com previously reported.
Initially, police said the mother reported the shooting was the result of an exchange of gunfire between two men. The child’s mother, who asked to be identified only as Natika for her safety, told Channel 2 Action News it all started when her friend sideswiped a parked SUV and took off a mirror.
Natika and her daughter were passengers in the vehicle. She said an armed man rushed out of a nearby house and demanded money for repairs.
He asked for $300, but Natika’s friend didn’t have it, she said. She asked if they could exchange insurance information, but she said the man became infuriated.
“He was getting irate,” the mother said. “I asked him before everything was over, I was like, ‘Don't shoot,' because I saw him clutching for his gun in his satchel. I said, ‘Don't shoot, my baby's in the car.’”
The man allegedly started shooting. Natika turned to check on her daughter in the backseat and saw the baby covered in blood.
"My baby's full of blood, so I don't know if she's hit in the chest, but she's still not crying, so I didn't know if she was alive," the mother told Channel 2.
Baby Raylah was shot in the hand. Her mother and the friend tried to rush the child the three miles to Grady Memorial Hospital. They were only about a block from the hospital when their car broke down.
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"She feels the tires going out, because at this point the tires are shot out," Natika recalled. "It took us right off Fulton Street and it completely stopped as we were getting out. It actually caught fire."
Natika flagged down a Georgia State University police officer just before 5:30 p.m. and told him her child had been shot. The baby was alert and appeared to be stable when officers escorted the pair to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite, according to Atlanta police.
RELATED: 'Don't shoot, my baby's in the car': Mom says child recovering from road-rage shooting
Raylah is expected to make a full recovery.
Mayfield is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with the intent to commit murder, one count of aggravated battery and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, jail records show.
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