An Oklahoma community is demanding answers after the unnecessary shooting of three young children at the hands of police.
According to KFOR, three children who were sitting in the backseat of a car were shot by two officers in the town of Hugo, after the officers opened fire on the car driven by a man they believed to have robbed a pizza shop.
“My 4-year-old daughter was shot in the head, and she has a bullet in her brain, and my 5-year-old has a skull fracture,” the childrens’ mother Olivia Hill told the news station. “My 1-year-old baby has gunshot wounds on her face. My 2-year-old wasn’t touched with any bullets.”
Hugo Police Department detectives Billy Jenkins and Chad Allen are being identified as the officers who opened fire. 21-year-old William Devaughn Smith is the man who reportedly was driving the vehicle. The hunt began after officers claimed Smith was attempting to run them over with his truck. However, many are stating that Jenkins and Allen could have very well moved out of the way instead of opening fire.
The family attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons said that the three children were sent the hospital and have been released. However, they will deal with “a lot of physical and emotional pain,” Simmons said.