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An adorable 9-year-old girl was shot in The Bronx — the third time in a month that an innocent child was caught in the crossfire, police said yesterday.
Amanda Chauan, an energetic third-grader who loves basketball, was playing in a parking lot near Bailey Avenue and West 234th Street in Kingsbridge at 9:30 p.m. Friday when a man on a bicycle fired six shots into the crowd.
One of the rounds grazed her stomach, causing a serious wound, sources and witnesses said.
“It’s so sad — so senseless,” said family friend Edgardo Marrero, 45.
The shooter initially rode in a circle to scope out a group congregated next to the parking lot, then sprayed the crowd with bullets, said witness Sam Fernandez, 27.
“He went in the middle of the street and started shooting in the crowd. Everyone dashed for cover,” Fernandez said.
Chauan’s grandmother, Wanda Forte, heard the shots from inside.
‘I was screaming, ‘No! No! I can’t believe it!’ I couldn’t deal with losing a granddaughter right now,” Forte, 46, said.
The girl then stumbled into the lobby of her building — where neighbors had ducked for cover — and collapsed, residents said.
“I was waiting for the elevator and saw people rushing in and screaming, ‘She got shot!’ ” said neighbor Joanny Jimenez, 19.
Chauan was in stable condition at Jacobi Medical Center.
Her father, Gustavo Chauan, said that hearing the news was a nightmare come true.
“What do you think when you hear your baby’s been shot?” he said.
Police are looking to question Billy James Jr., 17, pictured above, in connection with the shooting.
The NYPD, the Mayor’s Office and Crime Stoppers are offering a $22,000 reward.
The close call comes after D’aja Robinson, 14, was shot dead on a Queens bus on May 18 when a teen gang-banger opened fire.
Two weeks later, Tayloni Mazyck, 11, was shot in the neck in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Her family feared she was paralyzed, but the brave little girl sat up in her hospital bed Thursday.