‘Nightmare in our own home:’ Family looking to move after Las Vegas Trail shooting terror
The family of a 9-year-old who ducked bullets coming through the wall of their west Fort Worth apartment during a drive-by shooting earlier this month is asking for help relocating.
Mary Jane Gonzales and her children live at the Miramar Apartments and Townhomes located at 3064 Las Vegas Trail. She said her family doesn’t feel safe after the May 1 shooting that injured six people, including four children.
“Our family experienced a nightmare in our own home,” Gonzales said in a GoFundMe.
Gonzales’ 9-year-old son Errol Hill was getting ready to sit down on the living room sofa when a popping sound can be heard outside, according to home security video footage Gonzales shared with Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV.
Errol told WFAA that he thought the sound was fireworks until he heard people screaming. Multiple gunshots can be heard on the video, and a cloud of white dust can be seen next to Errol as bullets pierce the apartment walls.
The 9-year-old ducks down on the couch as gunfire explodes outside the window. Bullets sound like they are pinging off of a metal object and people are yelling in the background.
The shooting stops but the screams continue as Errol leaves the couch and runs down the hallway. He told WFAA that he took refuge in his parents’ bedroom “so I could feel safer.”
“Bullets pierced through the walls of our apartment, endangering the lives of everyone inside,” Gonzales wrote on the fundraiser site. She added that they “struck terrifyingly close” to her son.
According to Gonzales, the family had just signed a 12-month lease at the apartment complex, but now they want to move to a safer location.
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Six young people, ages 3 to 19, were injured in the shooting. Doctors had to remove the right kidney of the youngest victim, Me’chelle, after it was punctured by a bullet. Me’chelle’s 6-year-old brother, Ka’Vion, was shot in the femur and faces extensive physical therapy, according to a GoFundMe established for the family.
The children’s mother, Druscilla Rodriguez, told KXAS-TV that Me’chelle and Ka’Vion were laughing and talking with neighbors outside when the shooting started.
“Why? Why open up fire when you see there’s nothing but children outside playing?” Rodriguez said in an interview with KXAS.
A GoFundMe update on Thursday shows Me’chelle and Ka’Vion sitting on her hospital bed, smiling and surrounded by toys. It was the first time the two siblings had been able to play together since the shooting, according to the fundraiser.
“We’re just so blessed and thankful for LIFE!” the GoFundMe states. “God is so good.”
Police said May 3 that they had identified a car they believe was involved in the drive-by shooting. No arrests have been made.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing, a Fort Worth Police Department spokesperson said Tuesday, and there are no new updates to share.
