3 days ago
Adorable girl, 3, is killed after attending July 4 party with family as cops finally arrest suspect
A three-year-old Washington DC girl has died after she was hit by a stray bullet while sitting in a car watching Fourth of July fireworks.
Honesty Cheadle was taken off life support on Monday, days after she was rushed to the hospital in the early morning hours of July 5, her Great-Uncle Raymond Cheadle told WUSA 9.
She had been in the car around 3am with her father when she was struck in the upper body by the bullet outside his apartment. She was then rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Larry then carried his little girl up three flights of stairs because he 'didn't know what to do,' her aunt Tonia told the The Washington Post.
The little girl was being dropped after being taken to a cookout party, she told the outlet.
After two days on life support, little Honesty succumbed to her injuries.
'This child didn't bother nobody,' Raymond told WUSA 9. 'She didn't deserve to get hit.'
Raymond said Honesty's parents are in shambles after losing their baby girl, especially the father.
'That baby was his world, the baby's mother was his world,' the great-uncle said. 'And it's just sad y'all took that from them, from us.'
The shooting occurred as striking their car, shattering the window as fireworks rang out nearby.
Charles Rucker, 24, of DC, was arrested on Friday for the shooting and police believe he targeted the family's car, NBC Washington reported.
He fired multiple rounds into the car after approaching and then ran off. The other occupants of the vehicle were unharmed.
'This seemed to be an intended shooting. It was not one where we believe at this time that there were other individuals that were being sought at that time,' Chief of Police Pamela Smith said.
Rucker has been charged with first-degree murder and it is unclear what his relationship to the family is at this time.
'This arrest is a testament to the diligent and hard work of our police officers and detectives that has occurred around the clock over the past week,' Smith said.
The family started a GoFundMe to help pay for funeral expenses.
The little girl was remembered for her 'innocence' and for being 'full of light, personality, and so much promise.'
'We were not prepared for this — emotionally or financially — and are now facing the painful responsibility of laying our baby girl to rest without any insurance in place,' her aunt Tamika Butler wrote.
