Woman tried to shield her kids, 3 and 6, from gunfire in Fort Worth drive-by shooting
FORT WORTH, Texas - Fort Worth police have not yet arrested whoever was responsible for a drive-by shooting that injured six young victims, including a 3-year-old girl.
The toddler’s older brother was also one of the victims. Their parents tell FOX 4 the kids are scared of their home, and they’re thinking about moving away.
The 3-year-old girl is said to be stable but is still going through procedures in a hospital. Her 6-year-old brother was released from the hospital last Friday.
Parents probably never expect a simple act of allowing kids to play outside will lead to them being victims of a drive-by mass shooting.
However, it’s an unfortunate reality for Druscilla Rodriguez and Dontee Kinney.
"If that was your child, what would you do? How would you feel?" Rodriguez said.
"It’s painful because I got to look at my daughter like this every day," Kinney said.
The couple’s 3-year-old daughter, Me’chelle, and 6-year-old boy, Ka’vion, were playing outside of the Miramar Apartments in West Fort Worth last Wednesday evening.
There were more than a dozen people outside.
Surveillance footage shows what appears to be a red Kia Soul driving by. It appears to show someone firing from a back window. A front window was also rolled down.
Fort Worth police did not tell FOX 4 whether investigators are looking for the red Kia.
"It was a scary moment. Most people, when they hear gunshot fire, they take off running. My instinct, first thing that clicked in my head was my children and making sure that my children were okay," Rodriguez said. "My son, I kind of grabbed him and threw him into the breezeway, trying to avoid him from being hit. But he was already hit. And by the time I turned around, my 3-year-old, she had collapsed and hit the ground."
Me’chelle was the first victim to be taken to a hospital. The 3-year-old was shot in the back.
"When I went to pick her up, she was bleeding from two different spots," Rodriguez recalled.
FOX 4 was on scene by the time Ka’vion was carried into an ambulance. The 6-year-old was shot in the leg.
"They strong, and I’m strong for them," Kinney said.
The ages of the six victims range from 3 to 19.
The parents of these two children say the other victims are neighbors. They all survived. They say they have no idea who shot them or why.
"You a coward," Kinney said. "You ain’t got no morals."
This family does not feel safe returning to the apartment they’ve only lived in for a few months.
"My 6-year-old, it’s stuck in his head, like it’s hard for him to sleep at nighttime," Rodriguez said.
Thankfully, their four other kids were inside during the shooting. In fact, when they heard gunfire, they almost went outside.
"Cause they thought it was fireworks until they go out there and they seen there was so many kids laid out," Rodriguez said.
Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to contact the Fort Worth Police Department.