By Kathleen Jacob

    LAS VEGAS, NV (KVVU) -- A mother and her 10-year-old daughter were recovering after police said two men opened fire in a "gun battle" on each other Tuesday afternoon.

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Stray bullets hit both the mom and daughter. now they said they’re thankful to be alive.

The family was packing up their car after a shopping trip at Walmart. The mother, Samantha Tygrit, said the kids were in the back of the car when the gunshots started.

Tygrit was hit in the shoulder but ran to the back to protect her kids. She said her 10-year-old daughter, Aaliyah Inghram, had thrown herself on top of her 18-month-old brother and cousin to shield him from the bullets. In the process, Aaliyah was hit in the behind.

"I pulled my 4-year-old out, threw her on the ground, and held her down, and before I had a chance to get my 10-year-old and my 18-month-old, my 10-year-old looked at me and said she’d already been shot," Samantha said.

"I didn’t want the baby to get hurt so I like stepped in front of the babies. If I wouldn’t have stood in front of my brother, he would have been shot in the stomach," Aaliyah said.

"I died inside. I just scooped her up in my arms. I’d been shot, but I just picked her up and grabbed her sister," Samantha explained.

Aaliyah said it felt like she’d been hit really hard, but she didn’t realize she’d been shot until she saw the blood.

"I fainted one time, and all I remember is something wet and cold because they splashed water on me," Aaliyah said.

"She started passing out and I’d never been so scared in my life," Samantha said.

Thankfully, both mom and daughter were okay. Now, they’re just thankful to be alive.

"She saved her brother’s life yesterday, and my nephews, cause they were both there, and her little body could only shield so much. but she threw herself in front of them," Samantha said.

"Good thing that my brother’s okay because I would rather be shot than him be shot," Aaliyah said.

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