A 1-year-old boy is now struggling to breathe on his own and is fighting for his life, after he was shot in the head by the Houston police while they were pursuing a robbery suspect. Daisha was at a gas station, with her 1-year-old son, who was in the back seat of her car. The mother, who saw police cars and heard sirens said during a press conference that a man got into her car, and demanded her to hand it over to him.
“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,” the mom said. She was sitting in the car when the man suddenly opened the door and got onto her lap, in a bid to hijack her vehicle. Before she could process what was happening, the police arrived and they shot at the suspect while he was on the woman’s lap.
“Before I knew what happened they were already shooting at my car and I was just scared for my son’s life,” Smalls said. She later added that he “didn’t deserve to be shot, especially not by the police.” She then said, “I just want my baby to be safe. I just want my baby to be healthy.”
A statement by the Houston Police on March 4th, however, claimed that Daisha Smalls was not in the car at the time of the shooting. Apparently, the suspect —a 30-year-old man— was believed to be a part of two aggravated robberies.
He was already being chased by police when he jumped out of a car he crashed during the chase. The suspect, who was armed with a gun, then entered Smalls’ car. Despite cops asking him to surrender and drop the weapon, the man refused, which then led to cops shooting at him, killing him on the scene.
Houston Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Troy Finner said he thinks the police officer did not know that Legend was in the car at the time. “Fearing for the mother’s safety, one of our officers discharged his duty weapon, fatally striking the suspect,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said in a statement. “Sadly, baby Legend was also struck. Officers at the scene immediately rendered first aid to Legend.”
“We are hoping and praying for the full and speedy recovery of little one-year-old Legend Smalls,” he added. The officer who fired the shot that killed the suspect and injured baby Legend is a 15-year veteran. He has reportedly been placed on administrative duty while the investigation continues, Finner said.
Smalls’ attorney Ben Crump said Legend has been on a ventilator for 10 days. Doctors had to remove part of Legend’s skull due to the swelling. Though they managed to remove the bullet from his brain, there are still fragments lodged in his tiny organ. It seems like it’s too early to say Legend is out of the woods. “He’s had multiple seizures — over 10 seizures — he’s still fighting for his life,” he 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,” Crump said. “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 is also representing Smalls, said, “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.”