1 year later, family of slain Dallas 2-year-old remains hopeful killer will be caught
DALLAS - One year ago, Dallas was rocked by the violent death of a 2-year-old killed during a drive-by shooting as she sat in a car.
Her family gathered around her graveside Tuesday on the first anniversary of her death.
On Sept. 24, 2023, Zyah ‘Tink-Tink’ Lacy was killed in a drive-by shooting on Hay Street near Fair Park.
"This year has been a very trying year, not just for myself but as a family," said her grandmother, Tomeka Staten. "Because when we're at family events and we have things that are going on, we have one that is missing. So that void is still there. It's been a year, but God has seen us through it."
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The family had gathered on the birthday of a relative, a 38-year-old woman killed in a drive-by shooting in Crandall area back in February. Now, a 2-year-old was killed in the same manner in another senseless drive-by shooting.
The family had gathered to remember another relative who had been killed a year earlier.
"When you look at her life, being such a young child, it just makes you wonder, ‘My God. What have we succumbed to?’" Staten said.
Now, the family is gathering for another remembrance. Dallas Police Det. Guy Curtis joined them.
"Because they have lost a 2-year-old child for no reason. No reason at all," he said. "And to let them know that I haven’t forgot either."
Curtis released new video from different angles of the suspect’s car: a distinctive burnt orange Hyundai, possibly a Sonata.
The ATF is offering a $15,000 reward.
"The vehicle's occupied by at least two people," Curtis said. "Somebody can get paid, and somebody can go to jail."
Curtis carries this case as he does all: attached to the victim and the family.
"I have the same shirt that they're wearing that they gave to me at her funeral, and it hangs on my locker. And she sits behind me every day. She watches me work every day," he said. "I'm here to let the persons responsible know that I'm still here. Until the morning my car pulls up in front of your house, this will never stop."
Whoever did this, you're out there. It's not over," Staten said. "We're just starting, and we won't rest until justice is served."
Electronic billboards are scheduled to go up Tuesday to bring more attention to Zyah's case and, with the right person's help, maybe an arrest.