Arianna Delane, the four-year-old grand-niece of George Floyd, was asleep in her bed when she was shot on New Year’s Day.
Her father, Derrick Delane, told ABC13 News that their apartment in the 3300 block of Yellowstone Blvd. was struck several times by gunfire just before 3 a.m. Bullets entered the second story of the apartment block, striking Arianna in the torso.
“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 told the news outlet. “She didn’t know what was going on. She was asleep.”
Delane said he had just re-entered the home after lighting fireworks to ring in the new year.
Arianna was rushed to the hospital by her mother. Arianna underwent surgery. She has a punctured lung and liver and three broken ribs but her condition has been stabilized.
“She’s healing very fast. The last time I checked on her she was breathing on her own. She was doing really great,” Delane said.
Delane also claims that the police didn’t arrive until more than four hours after the incident. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner launched an Internal Affairs investigation into the department’s response time to the shooting.
The Houston Police Department released the following statement:
“The investigation into the senseless shooting of the 4-year-old female at 3322 Yellowstone Boulevard on Saturday morning (January 1) continues to move forward. 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 to 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.”
The department says they do not currently have any suspects or a motive for the shooting but that anyone with information should contact the HPD Major Assaults & Family Violence Division at 713-308-8800 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
