Police are searching for two gunmen in Texas after a shooting that left a 4-year-old girl dead and her parents and brothers injured. (Photo of victim from family and bullet-riddled door from KSAT/YouTube; surveillance photo from Bexar County Sheriff's Office)
Authorities are looking for two gunmen for shooting at a townhome in Texas with bullets, leading to the death of a 4-year-old girl and injuries to her parents and two brothers, ages 7 and 8, in a targeted attack captured on a neighbor’s surveillance video.
The community near San Antonio was shaken by the shooting that took place on Wednesday evening, tearing a family apart.
“I simply can't comprehend. Who would do such a thing?” April Luna expressed to a local ABC affiliate KSAT. “I just want my granddaughter. I want her back.”
Luna, who was in the townhome when the gunfire erupted, told the news station that a 3-year-old was also present at the time but was unharmed.
“It was incredibly loud, and it just didn't stop,” Luna stated to the outlet. “I went downstairs, and all I saw was my granddaughter. They shot her in the face.”
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar mentioned at a news conference this week that a large part of his department is actively searching for the culprits.
“They were there to cause as much damage as possible,” he remarked. “Will it give me great satisfaction to charge both of these two guys with capital murder when the time comes? Absolutely, it’s going to. I can promise you that.”
Deputies were alerted to a shooting in the 6700 block of Windsor Hollow Drive just before 8 p.m.
Deputies arrived to a chaotic scene — a neighbor who is a nursing assistant desperately trying to save a little girl. The first deputy to arrive, a trained and licensed paramedic, assisted in administering life-saving measures before emergency medical services arrived. Despite their efforts, the girl did not survive.
During the news conference, Salazar revealed surveillance video showing a car — identified as a gray Infiniti Q50 — arriving and two masked shooters approaching from different directions and opening fire at the home from outside using short-barreled rifles known as Dracos. Salazar described them as small AK-47-type weapons that fire “devastating rounds.”
One of the shooters is described as a white or Hispanic male wearing a gray hoodie, black pants, and red shoes. The second shooter was wearing black athletic clothing and possibly white or gray shoes.
According to Salazar, some 30 rounds were found at the scene. The front of the townhome was riddled with bullet holes.
“They literally riddled the front of that house,” Salazar said, as reported by the San Antonio Express-News . “It’s a miracle we’re not dealing with five dead bodies right now.”
Salazar mentioned that the holes were not circular and appeared longer and slimmer than regular bullet holes. He explained that due to the weapon's short barrel, the bullets tumble when fired.
“The rounds, almost as soon as they come out of that gun, are tumbling, and so when they hit, they hit flat,” Salazar explained. “That’s a devastating wound … so you can imagine that coming into contact with a little girl, 4 years old.”
Salazar said that the shooters planned to kill people.
“This wasn't a drive-by shooting where they shot from the street. They wanted to get out and get up close and personal, and they wanted to fire enough bullets into that home to make sure that they caused the most damage and made sure that they killed somebody.”
The family’s aunt established a GoFundMe.
“This is my 4-year-old niece she gained her wings and went to heaven,” she wrote. “Her life was taken so senselessly. Some cowards decided to shoot up their home killed her and her two brothers are fighting for their lives in the hospital. Her mother was shot as well and may not be able to walk again. Please help. RIP my baby girl you will be truly missed.”