The shooting took place on March 3 when Daisha Smalls was pumping gas and saw police sirens, she said at a news conference on Tuesday. Her son, Legend, was in the backseat of the car. Smalls said a man then got into her car and told her to give him the car.
“I wouldn’t give him my car because I let him know that I have a child in my car and that I wouldn’t leave my car without my son,” Smalls said through tears. Smalls said she was in the car when the man got in and the police were right behind them.
“Before I knew what was happening, they were already firing at my car and I was just scared for my son’s life,” said Smalls.
The 30-year-old man in question was a suspect in two serious robberies that were already being chased by police when he jumped out of a car he crashed in the chase. The suspect – who was armed with a gun – then got into Smalls’s car.
The man refused to drop the weapon, officers shot him several times and he died on the spot. The baby boy was also shot, Finner said.
Finner said he wasn’t sure if officers on the scene knew the baby was in the car, but they gave the baby and suspects first aid.
The officer who fired the shot that hit the baby is a 15-year veteran of HPD and is “very concerned” about the baby and his mother. He has been given administrative duty while the investigation continues, Finner said.
Smalls’ attorney, Ben Crump, said Legend has been on a ventilator for 10 days. Smalls said the bullet was removed from her son’s head along with the right side of his skull, but he still has bullet fragments in his head.
The legend has also had more than 10 attacks, Crump said.
‘Why would they shoot knowing she was in the car? Not knowing who else was in the car. There could be kids, there could have been others in the car, but they fired, ”Crump said. “Sadly and tragically, the little legend will live the rest of his life with the consequences of their decision to shoot his mother’s car, even though they knew she was in there.”
Attorney Antonio Romanucci, who also represents Smalls, said, “The objectivity is that there are innocent people in the line of fire and we know you won’t shoot unless you know what your target is.”
CNN has contacted the Houston Police Department and the Houston Mayor’s Office for comment.
“My baby didn’t deserve this, my baby didn’t deserve to be shot, especially by the police,” said Smalls. “I just want my baby to be safe. I just want my baby to be healthy.”
CNN’s Kay Jones contributed to this report.