Jamari Tillman was playing outside a community center in Liberty City when he was shot in the leg.
The 10-year-old was in the wrong place at the wrong time when he was shot earlier this month, but now his family tells NBC 6 that police have made an arrest in the case.
The family said the suspect is a 23-year-old man who lives in the very same neighborhood.
Tillman is still recovering and walking with a limp but he is able to stand to embrace his mom. They are happy an arrest has finally been made.
"I feel great, I can sleep better now knowing that there is an arrest now," Tillman said.
Back on June 3rd, Tillman was riding his bike with friends near the neighborhood basketball court in Liberty Square when three men opened fire.
Tillman was shot hit in the leg. The bullet is still in his leg. Tillman said the doctors decided it was safer to keep the bullet there, "because if they move it, it could damage my nerves."
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Police arrested 23-year-old Alfonso Rivera. He's accused of pulling the trigger that night. He's being held without bond on a charge of attempted first degree murder.
In court Tuesday prosecutors said Rivera was trying to kill someone, but ended up shooting the child. Records show he has faced drug and resisting police charges in the past.
"Just please stop shooting let the kids play and have fun," said Tillman's mother, Tiffany Fair. She said she does not believe her son was the intended target.
"They say he stays in the complex but I don't recognize him," Tillman said. Meantime, he said he doesn't like riding his bike anymore, "I might be a little scared."
His family's main concern right now is getting him to physical therapy and getting him back to school.
"We got to try to work it out so he can get himself back together for school," Fair said.
Police are still not releasing any details about the arrest, but surveillance cameras surround the area of the community center. And Fair said it's thanks to those cameras that the shooting suspect was caught and police were able to identify him.
