Family of woman caught in crossfire

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - A grandmother says it's a miracle her grandkids are alive, after getting in the middle of a shootout with deputies.

"She asked them not to shoot because her kids were in the car. After that all she remembers is gunfire."

She's talking about her daughter Tonie Cameron and her two young grandchildren.  For this grandmother named Tricina it was shocking to find out that her daughter's boyfriend, got into a shoot out with cops, with the kids in the backseat.

"I didn't know if my grandkids were hurt."

Deputies say Christopher Redding Jr., 20, was wanted for robbery, but when officers went to arrest him in a car, deputies say Redding started shooting.  So they shot back.  Tricina says her 20-year-old daughter was hit. 

"She was shot in her arm. Over here the bullet when in and came out. And over here her 2 fingers the bullet grazed her hand. And by the grace of God my grandkids were not harmed."

Tricina says Redding is the father of the 4-month-old boy. And treats the 16-month-old girl like his own daughter. They were on their way to bring the kids to his mother's house when deputies surrounded their car and a shoot out occurred.

"When she got shot, they didn't even know they shot her."

Investigators say Redding hit Sgt. Richard Stelter who is at home recovering.

"Was she upset that the deputy was shot? Absolutely, we wouldn't want him to be killed or anything. Nobody wants that.  I'm glad he's ok, I apologize if it did go that way, but right now I'm not going to say it did."

Tricina wants answers as to what happened.

"Chris was like a son to me. He respected me, he treated me like a mother." Deputies say Redding was wanted for three robberies…"

Something Tricina says she wasn't aware of. 

"He was a loving father. He loved his kids."

While she says, she knew he had been convicted of a felony, she believes there was a loving side to him.

"I talked to him that night, he really, really acted as if he was ready to change his life around and he just was struggling."

Now she says, it's the kids who are struggling, especially her grand daughter.

"I witnessed her having episodes, waking up screaming having nightmares. It's a crazy situation we would never expect to happen."

Tricina says her daughter is out of the hospital and trying to get closure. She also says, she's never been involved in any criminal activity.