RUSKIN, Fla. -- A 12-year-old hit by a stray bullet on New Year's Eve continues his recovery as Hillsborough sheriff's investigators continue their search for the person who fired the gun.
Diego Duran was playing in his family's front yard when a bullet came down, striking him in the top of the head. His parents rushed him to the hospital, not knowing what was wrong before doctors explained they'd found a bullet in his brain.
Diego has since undergone a series of surgeries to repair aneurisms in his brain. Meanwhile, sheriff's investigators have narrowed down some specific information that might eventually help uncover who fired the gun.
Detectives say the gunfire almost certainly came from within a mile radius of the family's Ruskin home near the intersection of 14th Avenue and 6th Street Southeast.
They've also determined the bullet was a .45 caliber full metal jacket and was fired sometime between 12:01 and 12:07, just after midnight on New Year's Eve.
"There's no celebration in firing your guns up in the air," said Sandra Duran, Diego's mother. "There is no difference between shooting at someone and shooing up in the air."
Sheriff's investigators have received 30 plus tips about celebratory gunfire the night of New Year's Eve, but so far have not been able to pin down the person responsible.