JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An Orange Park family is trying to figure out why someone would try to shoot out a window of their minivan while they were riding with two of their children inside.
The family was driving on Melvin Road at Firestone Road on the Westside on Saturday afternoon when a bullet or BB struck one of the van's windows and shattered it.
"I just want to see whoever did this, that they know that this is not a game," said Amanda Rhodes.
Rhodes said she was with two of her children and her husband as they drove down Melvin Road.
"As we were coming to the next stop sign, we heard a loud pop," Rhodes said. "Me and my husband were freaking out. I looked at the window. It was shattered."
"There were two cops behind us," Rhodes added. "We were able to wave down the second cop. He came and asked us what was going on. We told him our window was shot out."
But no shooter could be seen.
"I was crying. I was hysterical," Rhodes said. "My husband had to calm me down. The only way he could calm me down was by saying the kids are alright, everyone is alright, everyone is OK."
Rhodes suspects the shooter was a kid.
Channel 4 crime and safety analyst Ken Jefferson spoke about what to do if someone's car is shot at while they're driving.
"If at all possible and your vision is not too obscured, you need to keep going to find the nearest place that has people populated in that area where you can contact authorities," Jefferson said. "Never, ever stop to investigate the damage simply because there might be someone is shooting at you to get you to stop so they could take your car, rob you, abduct you, or do whatever."
Jefferson said drivers who can't see because of shattered glass should pull over, lock their doors and call for help.
Rhodes said she was lucky no one was hurt and points to the fact that her windows are tinted, which is what she said held the glass in place.
"So if the tint was not there, my 2-year-old and my 4-year-old would have been shattered with glass, and that is not something you play with," Rhodes said. "It's a minivan. Of course there is going to be kids in it."
If you have any information about who fired the shot, call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.