Arianna Delane, the four-year-old grandniece of George Floyd, was shot in the night as she slept in what her father claimed was a targeted attack.
George Floyd’s four-year-old great-niece shot in bed
Arianna was one of two girls and four adults sleeping inside the second floor of their apartment in south Houston, Texas, when a shooter opened fire around 3 am on New Year’s Day
Arianna was sleeping in the front bedroom when gunfire erupted.
She survived the attack and is recovering after emergency surgery for a punctured lung and liver. She also suffered three broken ribs.
“My daughter jumped up and said, ‘Dad, I’m hit,’ and I was in shock until I saw the blood and realized that my 4-year-old daughter had indeed been shot,” Arianna’s father, Derrick Delane, told ABC 13 Houston.
This is 4-year-old Arianna. She was front and center at the marches and rallies in her Uncle George Floyd’s case.
On Saturday around 3 a.m., her father tells me she was asleep in her bed when someone fired several shots at their apartment. Arianna was hit in her torso. pic.twitter.com/Cpo1oFwase
— Mycah Hatfield (@MycahABC13) January 4, 2022
Houston police said in a statement that they do not know the possible motive for the shooting or whether the girl or other family members were the specific targets.
Delane claimed it was a targeted shooting, but did not provide further details.
The family has accused police of a delayed response and said officers didn’t arrive until 7 a.m.
Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said in a statement that an Internal Affairs investigation was launched into the late response.
“I am aware and have concerns regarding the delayed response time in this incident and have launched an Internal Affairs investigation,” he said.
Arianna accompanied family members at several Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of her great-uncle George Floyd.
