A 10-year-old Northern California girl and her family mistook her gunshot wound for the start of her first menstrual period.
Last Thursday, the sleeping girl was shot in the buttocks during a drive by shooting. She awoke in pain with blood in her underwear and assumed that it was her period. Her parents called the family doctor at 2 a.m. and were told that the bleeding seemed consistent with menstruation.
However, when the girl awoke the next morning she was still in pain and her parents searched her bed and found bullet holes. A thorough inspection of her body then revealed the entry wound, which prompted them to immediately dial 911.
Investigators later spoke with doctors who say that the entry wound was “rather small” and could have easily been overlooked if there was reason to believe that she may be starting her period.
No motive has been determined for the shooting and investigators say the family may have been accidentally targeted.
