WASHINGTON (DC News Now) – A family member of the toddler who died from her injuries sustained in a Fourth of July shooting is speaking out.
Three-year-old Honesty Cheadle is one of several people shot in nearly a dozen shootings reported over the holiday weekend.
Officials with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) say she was shot around 3 a.m. Saturday in Southeast DC on the 1000 block of 14th Street.
Honesty’s Great Uncle Raymond Cheadle says she was getting out of a car along 14th Street when the shooting happened.
“This is cowardly stuff,” Cheadle said. “You’re running around here, shooting guns and you’re not caring about who you hit.”
Cheadle says he and his family have been devastated since Saturday’s shooting.
“You hurt a baby,” he said, “Three years old, her name is Honesty Cheadle. She was three years old. What could she have done to anybody?”
Cheadle says Honesty was with her father returning home after seeing a Fourth of July fireworks show.
“Pulled up here,” he said. “He was getting the baby out of the car, and shots started firing. Shots got fired down from this angle coming down and hit the baby, as he was picking her up in his arms.”
The family called 911. DC Fire and EMS arrived and took Honesty to a nearby hospital. Two days later, she died.
“Everybody’s calling me, ‘What happened?’” Cheadle said. “This is what happened. Some stupid person that don’t know how to conduct themselves and figures the best way to solve a problem is I’m going to get a gun and shoot down the block. The person who did this is a coward to me, and I’m going to do everything in my power to help find him.”
MPD Chief Pamela Smith released a statement on the shooting. Her full statement is below:
“This is a tragedy for Honesty’s family and our entire city, and I express my deepest condolences to her loved ones as they cope with such an unimaginable loss. Our detectives are working hard, pursuing leads, and will do everything in their power to find those responsible for this shooting and bring them to justice.”
