Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall angrily called for the end of gun violence in the city after a 1-year-old child lost his life in what police have described as a targeted shooting.
“We are angry,” the police chief said at a news conference Sunday afternoon, the tension in her voice palpable. “This 1-year-old baby was killed due to senseless gun violence in this city that we are determined and aggressive about eradicating in 2020.”
“It happened on my watch. And I am angry. And this sh–t has to STOP in this city,” she added as she banged her hand on the podium.”
According to WFAA, the 1-year-old, identified as Rory Norman, was killed in the early morning hours of Sunday, mere weeks before his birthday, which he would have celebrated on January 24.
An unknown assailant fired several shots into the home at around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, striking Rory and his 20-year-old uncle, who was at home from a local university for the holidays.
Rory’s uncle is expected to survive the shooting.
Hall said during the news conference that the shooting was “intentional, deliberate” and that the location “was targeted.”
The shooter, she said, would have had to know the layout of the home, as they went to the side of the house and opened fire through the bedroom windows, angling the weapon down, knowing that its occupants would have been asleep.
This was not the only shooting that involved a small child overnight. Hall also referenced a separate shooting in the city that resulted in an 8-year-old being grazed by a bullet.
“This senseless violence will stop. We’re determined that it will. But we can’t do this alone. We need your help,” Hall said, petitioning the public for help.
