Family members of Desirae Macias say they will have to remove her from life support after she was shot in the head after midnight Wednesday.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies say it all started when the boyfriend of the victim's mother got into an argument with three men at a gas station off Pearblossom Highway and Fort Tejon Road.
Family members say the boyfriend tried to simply walk away from the altercation knowing his girlfriend and her children were in the car with him.
"He just said, 'I want to leave. I have kids in the car. I want to go.' He ended up spraying some of that mace into one of their faces and got in the car and that's when they started following and shooting at the car," said Rosa Galvin, the victim's aunt.
Sheriff's officials say the suspects followed the family for miles before opening fire on the car. At least one bullet struck Desirae, who was sitting in the back seat.
"It was a red car and like a black pickup truck behind it, like chasing it, and then you just heard...the gunshots. I thought I heard the mom down the street saying, 'They shot my baby, my baby,' just screaming for help," said a witness who did not want to be identified.
Family members say the gunmen knew the child and her younger sibling were in the car but they still fired into the vehicle. Investigators collected over a dozen bullet casings and fragments from various locations.
The crime scene ended near the girl's home. That's where she was airlifted to the hospital.
Sheriff's deputies arrested three men, who have not been identified. They are being held in Palmdale. Authorities say they have recovered the gun used in the shooting.
