Harrison County child shot in head with arrow, family speaks out

A nine-year-old girl from Harrison County is in critical condition after being shot in the head with an arrow last night. According to the Harrison County sheriff, the little girl was shot by a 16-year-old family member at their house in Gulfport.
News 25 spoke with family members of nine-year-old Ashley Patton, who is in the hospital, and they say last night’s incident was a complete accident.
Ashley was found incoherent with a blunt injury to the back of her head in her home on Robinson Road in Gulfport at 6 p.m. According to Harrison County Sheriff Troy Peterson, a 16-year-old male family member shot her with a cross bow. After deputies arrived on scene, Ashley was taken to the hospital and is currently in critical condition at USA Medical Center in Mobile, Alabama.
A family relative who didn’t want to be identified says the 16-year-old boy is Ashley’s brother and the incident could have been prevented if the two children weren’t left alone that night. “We don’t even allow weapons in their house. It’s not my house. I’m a relative from out of town. A guy that lives out back left his weapon inside that house that should have never been inside that house. If we would have known it was in there we would have got it out. Ashley was playing with it. He told me after he got Ashley sent to the room, he went to reach up and test the tension on the string and when he did, it let go and shot.”
According to the family, Ashley is in a coma, but doctors tell them she has a good chance of living. Harrison County authorities say the 16-year-old was released and the case will go before a grand jury.