Only a few hours into the new year in Houston, TX, 4-year-old Arianna Delane was brutally awoken by ricocheting bullets. The young girl, recently identified as George Floyd’s grand-niece, survived, but only after three broken ribs, a punctured lung and liver, and emergency surgery.
And her family still has plenty of questions.
“Why would my house get shot up?” said her father. Another relative, LaTonya Floyd, believes the house was targeted, remembering five or six shots ringing out. But it wasn’t just the shooter they were worried about – it was also the police, whose inaction nearly condemned the child to death.
Despite the family having called 911 immediately after the shooting, police didn’t arrive until 7 a.m. – FOUR hours later. Why? Officers spewed a multitude of excuses, including that the 911 call was “miscoded” as lower-priority.
Meanwhile, Delane’s parents drove her to the hospital themselves. The doctor confirmed that the child would have died had they waited for the police to arrive!
Police have failed the Floyd family, and all of us, too many times to be authority figures we can rely on to keep us safe. But all is not lost.
Delane's family began raising funds for her medical support and resources to relocate to a new area – and the community’s stepping up! You can help, too, by donating at https://tinyurl.com/yprufy77.