A 2-year-old girl was found sleeping in a car in Texas after her father was shot to death.
The shooting in Houston took place just before midnight on Feb. 7.
“A neighbor heard a gunshot fired and deputies responded,” Sgt. Dennis Wollford of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office homicide division told KPRC.
Deputies rushed to the scene and found a man lying dead next to a car. “Upon checking the vehicle, it was determined that a small child was inside the vehicle,” Wollford said.
Harris County Sheriff’s Capt. John Shannon said that though someone heard the shot, there are no witnesses as of yet.
“We have one person who heard the gunshot. No eyewitnesses to the crime,” he told KTRK.
The girl was not injured and she was taken to a Child Protective Services office, where a family member picked her up.
“Thankfully the child was not injured. She was cared for by our deputies until reunited with mom,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said via Twitter.
He said that the victim, who hasn’t been publicly named, was a black male in his 20s.
Child found sleeping in car after father shot to death: https://t.co/p4JdMxxF9j #kprc2 #hounews pic.twitter.com/ckeD1OpF0w
— KPRC 2 Houston (@KPRC2) February 8, 2019
Update on shooting on Veterans Memorial: a b/m in his 20’s was shot & killed at Champions Townhomes. @HCSOTexas deputies discovered a 2-yr-old seated in a car adjacent to the body. Thankfully the child was not injured. She was cared for by our deputies until reunited with mom.
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) February 8, 2019
Violent Crime Declines
The FBI said that both violent crime and property crime decreased in 2017, the last year that full statistics are available for, compared to 2016. Overall violent crime decreased 0.2 percent from 2016 to last year, while property crime decreased 3 percent during that time, the agency said in September 2018, releasing data from the previous year.
“There were more than 1.2 million violent crimes reported to UCR nationwide in 2017. There was a 0.7 percent decrease in murders and a 4 percent decrease in robberies from 2016 to 2017. Aggravated assaults increased 1 percent in 2017. The FBI began collecting data solely on an updated rape definition last year, and 135,755 rapes were reported to law enforcement in 2017,” the FBI stated.
“The report also showed there were more than 7.7 million property crimes last year. Burglaries decreased 7.6 percent and larceny-thefts decreased 2.2 percent. Motor vehicle thefts increased by 0.8 percent from 2016 to 2017.” The figures were compiled from more than 13,000 law enforcement agencies around the United States that submitted their crime data to the FBI. Violent crime increased from 2015, the FBI said in 2017.
“The estimated number of violent crimes in the nation increased for the second straight year, rising 4.1 percent in 2016 when compared with 2015 data, according to FBI figures released today,” said the FBI in September 2017. In 2016, there were an estimated 1,248,185 violent crimes.
Murder and nonnegligent manslaughter offenses increased 8.6 percent when compared with estimates from 2015. Aggravated assault and rape (legacy definition) offenses increased 5.1 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, and robbery increased 1.2 percent.
