A 9-year-old girl is recovering from injuries she sustained following an altercation between two teens that ended with gunfire.

Newark police say that officers were called to the 400 block of Holiday Court Wednesday just before 5:30 p.m. for reports of an injured child.

Police say that a quarrel occurred between the girl’s 15-year-old sister and a 16-year-old girl. The 16-year-old came to the Holiday Court home with an unidentified male who is being sought by police. Gunfire erupted inside the home and the 9-year-old suffered two injuries to her foot and leg.

Police say that the girl was alert when speaking to police and was taken to University Hospital for treatment.

“It is tragic that a dispute between two teenagers led to a young child being shot,” Newark Police Director Brian O’Hara said in a statement. “But this incident speaks to the dilemma facing communities all over the country this summer, after children have been away from the structure of their classrooms for the past 15 months due to the pandemic.”

The 16-year-old was taken into custody as a person of interest in the case.

O’Hara says that nationwide, there has been an increase in gun crimes. He says that the Newark Police Department has recovered over 300 illegal firearms so far this year.