BOSTON -- Boston police are searching for the gunmen who scaled a balcony in Mattapan Monday night, shooting a father cradling his baby daughter as he watched TV and seriously wounding the child.

Doctors at Boston Medical Center performed surgery on 6-month-old Alianna Peguero to remove a bullet from her stomach. The girl is reportedly in critical condition at the hospital, suffering from liver damage caused by a large-caliber weapon.

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The shooting occurred about 8:30 p.m. at a first-floor apartment at 70 Fairlawn Ave. in Mattapan.

Relatives said they think the shooters climbed a low balcony and fired at least three rounds through a screen door at the baby's father, Alinson Peguero, 48, who was watching television at the time.

"The adult male was shot in the hand, and we believe that that round or another round that was fired hit the baby in the abdomen," Boston Police Superintendent Robert Dunford said.

"It's ridiculous. I mean, in this day and age you would think everybody should be safe in their own neighborhood and we're not. It's very sad," neighbor Camille Williams said.

"I just got my family and got them to a safe place because I knew it was shots," said neighbor Raymond Rodriguez, who lives one floor below the Peguero apartment.

Other residents said they also heard the commotion.

"I didn't think it was that serious because I'm always hearing gunshots," one resident said, although others said there has rarely been any violence at the complex.

"This is the first time I hear that," said Gilshaine Salomon, who's lived at the complex for two years.

Others said they're scared to let their children play outside.

"No, I don't feel safe anymore because I have a 6-year-old child here with me and my wife. I don't think it's fair," said Clervil St. Jean.

Family members said they believe the shooting is somehow connected to the slaying of the baby's 20-year-old brother, Alan Peguero, who was shot at his father's Dorchester convenience store nine months ago.

A police spokeswoman said officers did not believe the shooting was random but was connected to ongoing gang activity. Detectives are now searching for a late-model Jeep Cherokee with tinted windows in connection with Monday's shooting.

"As a father and a member of law enforcement, it is reprehensible to me that an infant child is an innocent victim of reckless gun violence and on-going gang activity. The coward responsible for this act deserves the most severe sentence. Officers are making every effort to locate and apprehend the perpetrator responsible for this heinous act," Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said.

It was police officers responding to reports of the shooting who rushed the baby to Carney Hospital. She was later transferred to Boston Medical Center.