A baby is “fighting for his life” after being shot in the head by Houston police.
As per CNN, the harrowing incident happened while the mother was pumping gas for her vehicle with her son in the back of the vehicle. She then heard sirens and saw police cars. When a man approached Ms. Smalls, asking her to give him her car, she refused, explaining that her baby boy is in the back.
During the Tuesday news conference, the mother said through tears:
“I wouldn’t give him my car because I let him know that I have a child in my car and that I would not leave my car without my son.”
Ms. Smalls added that she was sitting inside the vehicle when the stranger jumped in. She claimed that police were right behind them. The disheartened mother continued:
“Before I knew what happened, they were already shooting at my car, and I was just scared for my son’s life. My baby didn’t deserve this, my baby didn’t deserve to be shot, especially not by the police.”
However, a Houston police statement had an entirely different perspective on the case.
On March 4, Executive Assistant Police Chief Troy Finner stated that the mother was not in the car at the time of the shooting. Though, he was not sure whether the cops were aware that the baby was in the back seat.
According to police reports, the man who asked Ms. Smalls to give him her car was a 30-year-old suspect in two aggravated robberies. He was already being chased by the officers when he approached her, which happened moments after he crashed his own car. What’s more, the suspect was armed with a gun.
Since the man did not drop his weapon, police were forced to shoot at him “for the mother’s safety.” The suspect died on the scene.
“Fearing for the mother’s safety, one of our officers discharged his duty weapon, fatally striking the suspect. Sadly, baby Legend was also struck. Officers at the scene immediately rendered first aid to Legend.”
The officer who shot baby Legend is a 15-year HPD veteran.
Finner said the cop who fired the shot that hit the 1-year-old child was “deeply concerned” about both the baby and his mother. It was later revealed that the officer has been placed on administrative duty during the investigation.
As Acevedo claimed, both he and Finner paid a visit to Ms. Smalls and little Legend at the hospital. He commented:
“We are hoping and praying for the full and speedy recovery of little one-year-old Legend Smalls.”
Legend has been on a ventilator for 10 days, Ms. Smalls’ attorney said.
Ben Crump, the lawyer who represents Ms. Smalls, said that the baby boy has been fighting for his life and struggling to breathe for nearly two weeks. The deeply concerned mother added that even though the bullet was removed from Legend’s head, some fragments of it were impossible to pull out. Besides, to extract the bullet, doctors had to remove the right side of the child’s skull.
Terrifyingly, according to Crump, the baby also suffered more than 10 seizures. The attorney said:
“Why would they shoot knowing she was in the car? Not knowing who else was in the car. There could have been children, there could’ve been others in the car, but they shot. Regrettably and tragically, little Legend will live the rest of his life with the consequences of their decision to shoot into his mama’s car even though they knew she was in there.”
Attorney Antonio Romanucci, who also represents Ms. Smalls, added:
“The objectiveness is that there are innocent people in the line of fire, and we know that you do not shoot unless you know what your target is.”
The mother, frightened for her baby’s life, said she wants nothing more but for Legend to be “safe” and “healthy.”
