11-year-old killed in Dallas shooting ‘loved to make people smile,’ mother says
An 11-year-old boy was shot to death Sunday during a fight between two teenage girls, and the 14-year-old girl who fired the shot faces a charge of murder, Dallas police said.
The Dallas Police Department said officers responded to a shooting call at an apartment complex in the 3300 block of Southern Oaks Boulevard around 2 p.m. Two teenage girls had been fighting in the parking lot. One of the girls tried to shoot the other, but the bullet struck the male child, who was a bystander, police said.
The victim was transported to a hospital but later died from his injuries, officials said.
The suspect fled the scene but was found and taken into custody in a nearby apartment complex, according to police. She is being held in the Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center and faces a murder charge.
The 11-year-old victim was De’Evan McFall, his family confirmed to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
“Please, people! Stop killing each other! I never thought I would be standing here doing this for one of my babies,” the victim’s grandmother Lois Williams said during a news conference Monday that was recorded by KXAS-TV.
De’Evan’s mother, Vashunte Settles, held a photo of her son during the news conference. She said he was talented, athletic and loved being with his friends.
“He loved to make people smile,” she said. “He was a great child.”
McFall’s family told WFAA that they know the suspect’s family.
Police said they have recovered the weapon used in the shooting but they haven’t said where it came from.
De’Evan’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his funeral expenses.
Police said the investigation is ongoing.
Bishop Reshunn Chambers, a spokesperson for De’Evan’s family, said the violence needs to stop.
“We need the world to know that there is a better way,” he told reporters during an emotional appeal at the press conference. “We don’t have to resort to violence. It’s not just one person affected, it’s the entire community.”
