Photo: Facebook
She remains in hospital.
By Alice Kelly — Written on Jan 05, 2022
George Floyd’s grandniece has been identified as the victim of a New Year’s Day shooting in Houston, Texas.
Arianna Delane, the 4-year-old niece of Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in 2020, was shot in her bedroom just before 3 a.m. on January 1.
The child is expected to survive but had to undergo emergency surgery after bullets punctured her lung and liver, leaving her with three broken ribs.
George Floyd’s niece is believed to have been the victim of a ‘targeted attack.’
Her family say they have reason to believe the attack was deliberate and reportedly know who carried out the shooting, though no suspect has been arrested at this time.
Her father, Derrick Delane, said their apartment in the 3300 block of Yellowstone Blvd. was shot at several times with gunfire entering the second story of the building and hitting Arianna, who was asleep at the time.
"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."
Arianna Delane remains in hospital after the shooting.
After her mother rushed her to the emergency room and she underwent surgery, Arianna was fortunately stabilized.
Her father has expressed that he feels grateful she wasn’t killed in the shooting.
He added that he remains hopeful that her injuries won’t prevent her from achieving her dreams of becoming a dancer or cheerleader.
Though, he admitted that he will find it difficult to explain the shooting to Arianna.
"Why would my house get shot up?" the father said. "My daughter don't know. I can't explain that to her. As the father, you're supposed to protect the kids."
Police reportedly took four hours to arrive at the scene.
Delane says police officers did not arrive until 7 a.m. On Tuesday afternoon, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said an Internal Affairs investigation into the department's response time to the shooting had been launched.
"I am aware and have concerns regarding the delayed response time in this incident and have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation,” Finner said in a statement.
“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.”
Arianna had attended Black Lives Matter protests after George Floyd’s death.
Arianna is related to Floyd through her grandmother who is George Floyd’s sister.
Floyd was killed during an arrest after allegedly using a counterfeit $20 in a Minneapolis store.
Following months of protests against racism and police brutality, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death.
Chauvin had kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes, resulting in his death, while Floyd repeatedly called out “I can’t breathe.”
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.