Chief vows to catch killers of baby slain in dad’s arms
One day after a 10-month-old boy was killed in his father’s arms in a hail of gunfire in southwest Houston, Chief Art Acevedo offered a fiery vow to find the three men responsible for Wednesday’s slaying.
“We’re not going to put up with this,” Acevedo said at a Thursday morning news conference. “Gangsters killing a 10-monthold boy being held by his father, that’s outrageous. And I promise you we are going to come after these people.”
Then Thursday evening — more than 24 hours after the slaying — Acevedo and a slew of officers swarmed the scene again, even as police questioned two men detained in the area. The chief announced new plans to target the city’s most crime-ridden apartment complexes with long-term operations and promised safety to any wit-
nesses willing to come forward.
“I’ve been a cop 31 years, and there’s certain lines you don’t cross,” he told reporters near the scene of the crime at Nob Hill Apartments on North Braeswood. “You don’t kill a child in front of their parent.”
Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 for information leading an arrest.
Police believe three men in their 20s are responsible for gunfire that killed 10-month-old Messiah Marshall.
The tragedy unfolded Wednesday around 1:30 p.m., when the boy’s father — who police have not publicly identified — was out walking with his son.
The trio approached the father and child and began firing multiple rounds “indiscriminately,” according to police.
The father fled across the Nob Hill parking lot, trying to shield his son. But at least one bullet hit the baby, who died at a nearby Valero.
Afterward a GoFundMe campaign sprang up to raise money for Messiah’s funeral costs.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we mourn unexpected and sudden passing of Baby Messiah Justice Marshall,” the page reads.
“A beautiful soul was lost. He brought joy and laughter to all.” In just over 24 hours, the campaign brought in more than $4,500.
But as of Thursday morning, police still lacked a detailed description of the suspects. One was wearing a red hat and shorts during the shooting, Acevedo said. Another was wearing a white t-shirt.
“You got our attention,” the chief said, directly addressing the suspects. “And we’re going to start paying very close attention to your complex. We’re going to turn that place around.”
But he cautioned community members against taking matters into their own hands.
“Retaliation is just going to lead to more bloodshed,” he said. “Let us bring these people to justice so they can rot in prison, as far as I’m concerned.”
He urged anybody who witnessed the gunfire to contact law enforcement instead.
“There’s no doubt that there are people right now who know who these suspects were,” Acevedo said. “And there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to bring justice to this little boy.”
At least two people were arrested and questioned as a result of the increased police focus on the area, but Acevedo said it’s not yet clear whether the pair was involved in the slaying. A spokesman emphasized late Thursday afternoon that their detention may be unrelated.
Even as police prowled the community Thursday evening, locals seemed unfazed. Some came outside to witness the hubbub, but others went about their days as normal.
“Relatively speaking, it’s safe,” said Ann Estle, who’s lived in the Meyerland area her whole life. “But you don’t have to go far for that not to be the case.”
The 59-year-old pointed down the street to the site of a stabbing last year, but said she still feels safe outside at night.
“When you look at the data, this isn’t one of our worst complexes,” Acevedo said later. But he added that there were already special operations underway in the area at the time of the shooting.
“Ever since I’ve been walking around, it’s been safe,” said 16-year-old Zaria Scales as she strolled down the street in front of an armed security guard mid-afternoon. “But you never know,” she added.
On Thursday night, Nob Hill held a 7 p.m. meeting to discuss security concerns. Although media were barred from the event, Acevedo addressed the packed room, a move reinforcing his interest in zeroing in on gun crime.
Since becoming the city’s top cop, Acevedo has taken several major steps to retool his department to combat the problem, including ordering investigators to respond to non-fatal shootings immediately.
He created a citywide tactical unit to target the most dangerous offenders throughout Houston, announced plans to create another investigative unit specifically devoted to overnight shootings, and prioritized ballistics testing to try to get investigative leads to detectives more quickly.
Throughout the evening, officers patrolled the area, hoping to send a message to both the residents and the killers.
“We know that people saw things here, we want to reassure them. We want to reassure witnesses that we’re going to protect them,” Acevedo said before the meeting. “And we want to reassure the suspects that we are not going to rest until we catch them.”