Richmond mom, 5-year-old shooting victim too scared to go home

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - For the first time, we heard from the 5-year-old boy who survived a shootout on Mother's Day. Myronne Saunders was caught in crossfire Sunday and took a bullet to the arm.

While he's recovering, his mother is trying to move her family away from where this happened, Whitcomb Court, but says she's getting nowhere.

Through tears, Tiara Saunders said RRHA has given her no choice. She applied to live somewhere other than the projects, but her request was denied.

"I don't want to go back," she said. "I just want to be somewhere where I can be at peace and my kids can play can play outside peacefully."

Since the shooting, Saunders has only been home once to pack a few things. She's been staying with relatives in the meantime and says she'd rather be homeless than go back to Whitcomb Court.

Richmond police say there are no leads in her child's case, another reason why this mother and son are too scared to return back home.

As for Myronne, his family says he's a different boy than he was just four days ago. His right arm is in a splint and he can barely move his hand, but according to family, the biggest change is in his once outgoing personality.

"He doesn't like to be around nobody," said his grandmother Pamela Miller. "He's always looking around, and if someone knocks at the door, he's looking at it. He definitely don't want to go back over to Whitcomb Court."

NBC12 reached out to RRHA to see why Tiara was denied a transfer, but a spokeswoman says the soonest they could reply to our inquiry was Friday.

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