Cops: Aurora woman shot boy, 9, with air rifle

An Aurora woman was arrested Wednesday on charges she shot a 9-year-old Batavia boy with an air rifle in a random, drive-by attack.

Nikola Pajonkova, 19, of the 200 block of South Western Avenue, turned herself over to police on charges of aggravated battery and battery in connection with the Sept. 9 shooting on Batavia's west side, authorities said.

Batavia Police Detective Kevin Bretz said Pajonkova shot the boy in the arm from the passenger side of a southbound sport utility vehicle on the 300 block of North Van Nortwick Avenue during early evening hours.

The boy wasn't seriously injured, Bretz said. Officers responded after the victim's mother called police, and as three other residents in the neighborhood reported sightings of someone pointing a rifle from a moving vehicle.

"This had nothing to do with gangs - it was a random act," Bretz said. "There's no known association between the victim and the shooter."

The most serious charge against Pajonkova is a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The other charge is a misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail.

Police said Pajonkova surrendered Wednesday afternoon on a $10,000 bail warrant. Her first court date wasn't immediately available.

Bretz said no one else in the SUV was charged.