Security guard who accidentally shot 6-year-old girl 'kept missing his target,' prosecutors say

HOUSTON, Texas -- The security guard accused of accidentally shooting a little girl at a McDonald's drive-thru during a theft at a cell phone store appeared in court Wednesday.

Christopher Bradley, 28, is charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury in the shooting that injured 6-year-old Claire Tidwell.

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Claire is recovering after a three-hour surgery on Tuesday to remove that stray bullet from her left leg.

The shooting happened at the T-Mobile store in the 5500 block of Airline in north Houston. Authorities say Bradley, who was not in uniform, saw 18-year-old Earnest Hudson stealing an iPhone.

Hudson ran out, triggering the alarm. Bradley confronted him outside of the store. During the confrontation, he pointed his gun at Hudson, who took off.

Bradley chased after him, firing "an unknown amount of times," prosecutors said. Bradley followed Hudson toward the right side of the McDonald's drive-thru, where Claire and her family were at the time. Claire was sitting in the back seat of her family's vehicle.

Prosecutors said Bradley "kept missing his target," but he did end up hitting Hudson several times.

Hudson was taken to the hospital, where he's expected to survive. However, Bradley also hit Claire while she was in the car.

She had a fractured femur, which required the surgery.

Claire took her first steps shortly after the procedure.

6-year-old girl takes first steps after being hit by stray bullet during robbery

She may still have serious nerve damage.

"This is going to be expensive and it's going to be long term. This is something that's not just going to be she gets out of the hospital and she's back to normal," Claire's aunt Jessica Montanez told ABC13.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay for Claire's expenses and recovery.

Claire's family says she's doing well and told them, "I'm going to be OK."

As for Bradley, a judge set his bond at $30,000.

Bradley's mom told Eyewitness News that while she's sorry Claire was caught in the crossfire, she thinks her son did the right thing.