Thick blanket may have helped save 3-year-old boy in Palmdale shooting

PALMDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- A thick blanket may have helped save a 3-year-old Palmdale boy who was shot as he slept in his home Sunday night.

Detectives say Dylan Hernandez was in his crib when shots were fired from outside around 9:50 p.m. on the 38000 block of 65th Street East.

According to sheriff's officials, a bullet penetrated the exterior wall and struck the boy in the lower back. But because he was wrapped in a heavy blanket, it only caused a bruise and a small burn. Another bullet was lodged in his parents' mattress.

"I very glad to God ... we are grateful right now," said the child's mother Maribel Hernandez.

The victim was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries, and by Monday, he was back at home.

"At first I thought it was fireworks because it was pretty loud until I heard my baby brother crying," said Samuel Hernandez, the victim's brother. "(The injury) was like a scrape; it was like burned."

The gunman fled the scene on foot. A suspect description was not immediately available.

The investigation is ongoing, but authorities don't believe the family has any gang affiliation.

Detectives do not know if the trailer home was targeted or if stray bullets hit the home from a nearby shooting. No other home in the area was hit by gunfire.

Anyone with information was asked to call the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Palmdale Station at (661) 272-2400.