Florida man hit in arm with stray bullet while driving home with family

A man was shot in arm Saturday by a stray bullet. (Photo: WFTV.com)

A man was shot in arm Saturday by a stray bullet. (Photo: WFTV.com)

A Tampa man was randomly shot in the arm Saturday evening while driving through the Fairview Shores neighborhood, the Orlando Police Department said.

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Police said they were called shortly after 8:30 p.m. after someone shot the SUV several times, piercing a window.

Nicole Rawlins, the victim's wife, told Channel 9 she, her husband and their three children -- ages 2, 5 and 11 -- were driving home to Tampa after celebrating a birthday with relatives in the Forest City neighborhood when their GPS system led them astray.

She said she and her husband were searching for directions when he was shot.

"We just heard the sound and just weren't understanding what was happening," Rawlins said. "I thought that balloons popped or something. And when I looked up, I saw the glass."

She said she is grateful her husband wasn't more seriously injured.

"It could have (gone) bad fast," Rawlins said. "Just a split moment and it could have been completely different than just a bullet through an arm."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is investigating the shooting.

No other details were available.

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