Toddler Killed by Gunfire at Party Honoring Relative Slain in Shooting

After a 2-year-old girl was gunned down during a balloon release in memory of a relative killed in a drive-by shooting, her family is seeking the public’s help in finding the person who pulled the trigger.

Gunfire erupted at roughly 9:30 p.m. Sunday in a neighborhood near Fair Park in Dallas, Texas, according to Dallas Police Department (DPD). Authorities said several rounds were fired at a “large gathering” outside a home on Hay Street, fatally striking the toddler and critically wounding a woman, who is not related to the child, police told local station WFAA. Local outlets report the incident was a drive-by shooting.

Both victims were taken to a hospital, where the toddler was pronounced dead, DPD said. The woman is expected to survive but no other details about her were available as of Monday night.

Family members identified the slain toddler as Zyah Lacy, according to local media.

Newsweek reached out via email and Facebook on Monday to the DPD for comment.

Dallas police spokeswoman Kristin Lowman told local media that Sunday’s shooting was not random.

“However, the woman and the child were not the intended targets,” Lowman said.

Lacy’s maternal step-grandmother Deborah Harper-Smith said she was with the little girl when the gunfire broke out on Sunday night. She told FOX 4 that the family had gathered on the birthday of a deceased relative, a 38-year-old woman who was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in February.

“My grandbaby ain’t your target,” Harper-Smith said. “So why does she have to die? Like, why would you shoot a 2-year-old?”

Harper-Smith said they were outside taking pictures and celebrating when gunshots rang out.

“Everybody started to run. I grabbed my grandbaby,” she said, adding that she dived behind a vehicle for cover but it was too late. She said she felt blood and realized her granddaughter had been shot twice.

Harper-Smith said they got into a car and rushed Lacy to a nearby hospital, but the toddler succumbed to her wounds.

“My baby was only 2 years old,” Harper-Smith said. “She haven’t even lived a full life yet.”

At the time of publication, it was unclear who the intended targets were, the toddler’s relationship to the February drive-by victim, and how many suspects are being sought. While Dallas police continue to investigate, Lacy’s grandmothers told local media outlets that they are hoping someone will come forward with information.

Harper-Smith and Zyah’s other two grandmothers gathered on Monday at their church to pray for peace and answers, FOX 4 reports. They’re asking the public for help in bringing the toddler’s killer to justice.

“Somebody somewhere out there knows something,” Lacy’s maternal grandmother Lisa Smith told FOX 4. “We are hurting. Her name is Zyah. It means ray of life, and she was a light to us.”