A 6-year-old girl caught in gang crossfire and shot in the back received an early Christmas Monday when LA's Police Protective League brought gifts as part of their Blue Christmas program.
Santa Claus was wearing black and blue Monday, as 6-year-old Emily Ramirez was showered with gifts by the Los Angeles Police Department after being shot in the back in October.
Her family says she still experiences pain, but she was all smiles on Christmas Eve, sharing gifts with her siblings.
It's all part of the LA Police Protective League's second annual Blue Christmas to help families in need and that have been through serious trauma. Operation Blue Christmas started with the New York Police Department and migrated from New York to Los Angeles. The Police Protective League told NBC4 that they brought gifts to 30 families on Christmas Eve.
"The past year for hard for us and then this is a little bit of I just thank God and everything to be alive with my daughter," Brenda Ramirez, Emily's mother, says.
"To see the smile on her face, the joy, she kind of lit up the whole environment and the whole area around here she's so appreciative," LAPD Officer Joseph Marrone said. "It's a beautiful thing to see."
Emily reflected the generosity back to her siblings and cousins, with everyone walking away receiving gifts in hands and hearts.
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"Its good to see her happiness," Sgt. Jerretta Sandoz of the LA Police Protective League said. "We just wanted to make her smile."
No arrests have been made in Emily's shooting.
