The four-year-old niece of George Floyd sustained multiple injuries after she was hit by gunfire while she was sleeping in their southwest Houston home on New Year’s Day. According to KTRK, Arianna Delane’s family said the minor suffered a punctured lung and liver and three broken ribs.
In an interview with the news outlet, Arianna’s father, Derrick Delane, said several rounds of bullets were fired into their home in the wee hours of January 1. Arianna, who was sleeping in the front bedroom at the time of the shooting, was hit.
“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 said. “She didn’t know what was going on. She was asleep.”
Arianna had to undergo surgery at a hospital in the aftermath of the incident. She has since been stabilized. The minor was on admission at the time of this report.
Responding to the shooting on Tuesday, Houston police said they’re yet to establish the motive behind the shooting and also identify a suspect. The minor’s father also said he feels their home was targeted.
“Why would my house get shot up?” Delane said. “My daughter don’t know. I can’t explain that to her. As the father, you’re supposed to protect the kids.”
Meanwhile, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner on Tuesday launched an Internal Affairs investigation into the time police arrived at the scene of the shooting. That investigation comes after Arianna’s father said police responded to the scene over four hours after the shooting.
“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.
Arianna’s uncle, George Floyd, passed away in 2020 after former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for several minutes despite pleading that he couldn’t breathe. His death triggered nationwide protests in what was a summer of racial reckoning.
