A seven-year-old boy remained in hospital last night battling to stay alive after he was shot in the stomach by heartless gunmen who sprayed the one-bedroom house in which he, his nine-month-old brother and their mother slept in Lyssons, St Thomas, early yesterday morning.

The heartless attack on the house in a section of the community called Pipe Lane left residents in fear and had Jahmauny Robinson’s mother, Nordia Johnson, frantically seeking assistance to save her son.

“I was sleeping in my bed with my children and is the sound of gunshot wake me,” Johnson explained.

The distraught mother stood in a daze with her hands on her head as she recalled the horrific attack which occurred at approximately 3:45 am.

“When mi hear the shot mi hear mi son cry out,” said the 29-year-old woman as she fought hard to hold back the tears.

“When mi babyfather go check, him see mi baby covered in blood,” she added.

In a desperate bid to save the life of her child, Johnson lifted the boy and rushed out onto the street crying for help.

“For several minutes mi out there a call and no one came to my rescue,” she said, explaining that she watched helplessly as cars drove by.

“I ran out in the road in my underwear and blouse.

I was covered in blood calling out for help; they all ignored me.”

Determined that she would not allow her son to die, Johnson started running with him toward the Princess Margaret Hospital.

“While I was rushing with mi baby is a youth mi see come out come help me and gave me a lift to Princess Margaret Hospital,” she said.

Doctors, Johnson said, carried out a five-hour operation on the child who, at press time last night, was said to be in serious condition.

Meanwhile, police said they have held a suspect in relation to the shooting.

However, his identity is being withheld pending further investigations.

The Morant Bay Criminal Investigation Branch is urging anyone with information regarding the shooting to call 982-1027, 982-2233, 119, or the nearest police station.