Arlington police accused a 21-year-old man of manslaughter after a 4-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed shortly after midnight during the New Year celebration.
According to Arlington police, a shootout was reported in an apartment complex on Block 700 on Washington Drive, near Collins Street and Lamar Boulevard, at around 12:36 pm and an interlocutor reported seeing two people leaving the complex with a child that was bleeding.
When the police arrived, they saw a trail of blood leading to a residence. They entered the apartment unlocked and found what was described as a “crime scene”, but there was no one inside.
Shortly thereafter, the police were notified by police in Grand Prairie that a 4-year-old boy was taken to a hospital and that the child died from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
Police confirmed to NBC 5 on Friday afternoon that they interviewed four adults, two who were in the hospital and two who returned to the apartment after leaving the hospital, who told police they were in the apartment at the time of the shooting.
Lt. Christopher Cook of the Arlington Police Department said on Friday afternoon that one of the adults initially told the police that the bullet was a stray animal that entered the apartment from the outside through the sliding glass door.
“We were able to unmask this story and determine, based on the ballistic evidence at the crime scene, that that bullet did not enter the apartment window,” said Cook. “There was damage to the apartment window, but it was previous damage.”
Cook said one of the occupants later told the police that they were celebrating and dancing inside the apartment, they had a firearm and she accidentally shot and hit the child in the head.
“Again, another tragic case, certainly preventable,” said Cook.
Information released by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the child on Friday morning as the 4-year-old Messiah Taplin of Corsicana. The coroner’s office confirmed that the child was shot in the head in the Residence at Arlington apartments and was taken nearly 10 miles away to the Baylor Scott & White Emergency Hospital in South Grand Prairie, where he died about 1:15 am.
No further details were released about who was holding the gun when it went off, or the relationship with the child.
Later on Friday, the police accused Zantyler Foster-Hooks of 21 years of manslaughter and committed him to the Arlington city jail.
Arlington Police Department Zantyler Foster-Hooks, 21.
The police did not reveal the relationship between the child and the adults in the apartment, but said he lives there. They added that the child’s biological mother lives outside the area and was not present when her son was shot.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Anyone with information should contact Detective Charles Cisneros at 817-575-3169. Informants can also remain anonymous by contacting Tarrant County Crime Stoppers at 817-469-TIPS.
Emilio Ramos, from Telemundo 39, contributed to this report.