SPRING HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) -- A baby is on the path to recovery less than two weeks after a bullet fired from outside her Spring Hill home struck her in the head while she slept.

According to the Spring Hill Police Department, officers responded to the Harvest Pointe subdivision shortly before 1 a.m. on June 6 after two Columbia teenagers exchanged gunfire following a drug deal that went bad in the 3000 block of Shandor Street.

Authorities said as many as 15 rounds were fired in the shootout, several of which struck the home of Leslie and J.P. Layne while a 6-year-old, a 4-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a 22-month-old were fast asleep inside. One of those bullets went through a wall and grazed the skull of the 22-month-old, London Layne.

Nearly two weeks later, on Thursday, June 19, the little girl seemed energetic and eager to frolic in her neighborhood. As her mother pulled her around in a stroller, London was wearing a bicycle helmet to protect her head, which is still tender from the skull fracture she sustained from the shootout.

According to Leslie, London is a tough cookie.

Leslie described the first frightening moments from the June 6 incident to News 2: "We weren't really sure what we heard. At first, it was 'Is that fireworks?' And he goes, 'No, I think it's gunfire.' I opened the front door, see the car speeding off; he opens [London's] bedroom door and screams, 'She's bleeding!' And I'm like, 'What?!' She was just, blood everywhere."

The Laynes, a spiritual family, said they believe God had His hand around their baby that day.

"The Lord was behind the scenes, working the entire time," Leslie said. "They said if it had been a millimeter further, she would have bled out before EMS got there."

According to Leslie, the bullet fractured her daughter's head and caused her brain to bleed, but it didn't penetrate deep enough to kill her or even require cranial surgery.

The Laynes told News 2 they built their Spring Hill home, writing biblical scriptures on many of the beams and frames that currently hold it up.

The family believes it's no coincidence that just days before the shooting, they had moved London to a much more sturdy crib with thick wooden spindles reportedly changed the course of the bullet.

"All the debris we saw on top of her head we assumed was skull, and we got to the hospital and they're like, 'It's wood,' from where the spindle exploded as the bullet hit it, and I was like, 'Thank you, Jesus,'" Leslie said.

According to J.P., the doctors were also amazed since it's not often that a child gets shot in the head and is released from the hospital within 36 hours.

"I heard from the doctors at Vanderbilt this is a miracle situation. Let me say this: this whole situation has been touched by God, for the fact that the gunshot came in just perfectly, it hit the spindle, the spindle dispersed the energy," J.P. explained. "Yes, she got shot, but through that, you've had the perfect hit to the head so that it didn't bleed too much, it didn't have too much pressure, so they didn't have to actually go in and drill in her head, and she's recovering very, very quickly."

The family told News 2 London is relearning to walk and talk, but she's expected to make a full recovery.

J.P. said he hopes for justice in this case, but he also prays for the two young men from Columbia who have been charged in connection with the shootout that injured his daughter.

"Two young men have completely changed the course of their lives and the course of our daughter's, and we have to pay attention to that because it's not necessarily about 'Hey, look, you did one wrong action and let's throw you to the wolves.' We've got to help them to be rehabilitated and we have to be mindful of that through this process," London's father told News 2.

On June 12, SHPD announced a 17-year-old had been charged with attempted second-degree murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, aggravated assault, and reckless endangerment by discharging a firearm into a habitation. Four days later, law enforcement arrested 18-year-old La'Taveious Lee in Clarksville for two counts of reckless endangerment in relation to the shooting.

As of Tuesday, June 17, the investigation into the shootout is still ongoing and more charges may be pending, according to officials.

Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been set up to help with London's medical expenses. If you'd like to make a contribution, click here.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/miracle-situation-spring-hill-baby-recovering-after-being-hit-by-stray-bullet-during-shootout/