Police: Adults lied about fatal shooting of 4-year-old Arlington boy

ARLINGTON, Texas - A little boy was killed by New Year’s Eve gunfire in Arlington. Police said as they investigated what happened, they discovered the adults caring for him were not being truthful about what happened.

The fatal shooting happened just after midnight at an apartment complex on Washington Drive.

Police said 4-year-old Messiah Taplin was hit in the head by a bullet and later died at a hospital in Grand Prairie.

"What makes this case so hard is one, it’s a child. Two, it’s preventable," said Lt. Chris Cook with the Arlington Police Department.

Lt. Cook said four adults drove the child to the hospital. Their initial story about what happened was proven to be false.

"Their story initially was they were just celebrating New Year’s Eve inside the apartment and a stray bullet from outside entered through the glass sliding door. We were able to debunk that story based upon ballistic evidence at the scene. That round did not enter through the apartment window," he said.

There was damage to the sliding glass door but investigators determined it was from a previous incident. The adults undergoing questioning then changed their story.

"We were able to get information from one of the occupants, a man I don’t know his age yet. He claimed they were dancing inside the apartment. They had a gun and it accidently went off and struck the child," Lt. Cook said. "They concocted a story that it was celebratory gunfire that came from the outside because they panicked in their words and they didn’t want to get in trouble."

Zantyler Foster-Hooks, the man who was handling the gun, was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Police said his relationship to the child is unclear.

"It’s so sad to have these conversations each and every year, reminding folks don’t discharge firearms. Don’t play with guns," Lt. Cook said.

Police haven't' ruled out additional arrests, he said.