George Floyd's 4-year-old grandniece was shot while sleeping in her family's apartment in southwest Houston on New Year's Day, People reports.

Arianna Delane was shot several times around 3 a.m. on Jan 1. Her father, Derrick Delane, said gunshots hit the apartment while Arianna slept in her bed.

This is 4-year-old Arianna. She was front and center at the marches and rallies in her Uncle George Floyd’s case.

On Saturday around 3 a.m., her father tells me she was asleep in her bed when someone fired several shots at their apartment. Arianna was hit in her torso. pic.twitter.com/Cpo1oFwase

— Mycah Hatfield (@MycahABC13) January 4, 2022

"My daughter jumped up and said, 'Daddy, I've been hit,' and I was shocked until I seen the blood and I realized my 4-year-old daughter was really hit. She didn't know what was going on. She was asleep," Derrick said.

Arianna's mother took her to the hospital where she was placed in surgery and is now in stable condition. According to her family, Arianna suffered a punctured lung and liver, in addition to three broken ribs. Derrick, however, is thankful that she was not fatally shot, ABC 13 reports.

"Why would my house get shot up? My daughter don't know. I can't explain that to her. As the father, you're supposed to protect the kids," Derrick said, according to ABC 13.

Derrick also voiced his concern that officers did not respond to his call until 7 a.m., about four hours after the shooting.

On Tuesday, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner started an internal affairs investigation to discover what delayed the police's response time to the shooting.

"I am aware and have concerns regarding the delayed response time in this incident and have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation. I ask the city to continue to pray for the child's full recovery and assist in providing information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect or suspects responsible," Finner said in an official statement.

Houston police said there are no suspects at this time, nor can they provide an explanation of a possible motive.

In the summer of 2020, nationwide protests were ignited when Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was sentenced to over 20 years in prison for kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, the New York Post reports.

Arianna's family often takes the 4-year-old to attend marches and rallies demanding justice for her deceased great uncle.

Arianna-Delane

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