The 4-year-old girl who was shot in Houston on New Year’s day has been identified as the niece of George Floyd – the black man who was killed by the Minneapolis police officer in 2020 triggering the #blacklivesmatter movement across the globe.
The little girl has been identified as Arianna Delane.
The father of the little girl, Derrick Delane stated that their “apartment in the 3300 block of Yellowstone boulevard was hit several times by gunfire just before 3 a.m. on January 1st.”
“My daughter jumped up and said, ‘Daddy, I’ve been hit’ and I was shocked until I seen the blood and I realized my 4-year-old daughter was really hit,” Delane recalled. “She didn’t know what was going on. She was asleep.”
The girl was immediately taken to the hospital by her mother where a surgery was performed on her and it is said that her condition is stabilized now.
According to the family, “she has a punctured lung and liver and three broken ribs. She is still hospitalized”
The family is relieved that she lived. The father feels fortunate that she was not killed during the shooting episode.
Houston police stated that the motive behind the shooting is still unknown.
The father believes that this was a targeted attack on his home.
“Why would my house get shot up? My daughter don’t know. I can’t explain that to her. As the father, you’re supposed to protect the kids.” said the father.
“I am aware and have concerns regarding the delayed response time in this incident and have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation. I ask the city continue to pray for the child’s full recovery and assist in providing information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect or suspects responsible,” Finner said in a statement.
Houston police have urged anyone to come forward and give crucial information regarding the case. Contact HPD major assaults and family violence division at 713-308-8800 or the crime stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
