12-year-old boy shot in the head during gunfight between 2 men at Ontario park, police say

Rob McMillan Image
Friday, April 11, 2025
12-year-old boy hit by stray bullet during gunfight at Ontario park
"How can you just pull out a gun, and just start shooting without -- not thinking about the consequences?" the victim's mother said. Two suspects have been charged with attempted murder.

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- A 12-year-old boy was shot in the head by a stray bullet when a violent argument between two men ended in gunfire at a park in Ontario.

The incident happened Friday at Veterans Memorial Park as the boy was leaving an after-school program, according to the Ontario Police Department.

That's when two men got into a verbal altercation in the parking lot. Both of them pulled out guns and exchanged gunfire, striking the victim who was sitting in the backseat of his family's vehicle nearby, police said.

"And the first thing I noticed was this guy going to his car, opening the trunk, pulling a gun, because he had it hidden in the upper side of his body, and he clicked it and started shooting," the victim's mother said in an interview with Eyewitness News Reporter Rob McMillan. "That's when my husband said he saw the glass shatter, and my son was behind me. The first thing my son said was, 'Dad!' That was the last word he said, 'Dad!' So my husband had seen that he was bleeding, even though they were still shooting, we didn't think about it, and my husband got out of the car, goes around, and holds my son."

The boy was taken to a local trauma center and underwent emergency surgery. He was then taken to a children's trauma center for further treatment.

"And he just kept telling him, baby, don't go, don't go, stay with me, talk to me, talk to me," the boy's mother said.

She said he's now in stable condition, but it will take one to two years for him to fully recover.

"He has looked at me. He keeps grabbing my hands and saying, 'Mom, I'm still here,'" she said.

The suspects were identified as Damian Marquis Berry, 25, of Victorville, and Anthony Dionte Erwing, 35, of Los Angeles. They were both arrested on attempted murder charges shortly after the shooting.

Authorities say they both have long criminal histories. Berry was out on supervised release, and Erwing was out on probation.

"How can you just pull out a gun, and just start shooting without -- not thinking about the consequences?" the victim's mother asked.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact detectives at (909) 408-1632 or (909) 986-6711.

A GoFundMe account was set up to help the boy and his family.

"To parents who have kids, small kids, no matter their age -- I know people work late, and they're tired -- but if they have daughters or sons, just go home, hug them, listen to them," the boy's mother said, "Don't take anything for granted, because your kids, in a blink of an eye, could be gone."

Copyright © 2025 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.