For most parents, the worst thing they can imagine is something happening to their precious little ones. Although this anxiety often centers around the possibility of children developing serious illnesses, that’s sadly far from the only danger the world has in store.
Parents know that there are dangerous people out there.
As hard as it can be to accept, parents are well aware that another person may bring harm to their kids. This expectation usually involves some kind of shadowy kidnapper or predator, which has led to the rise of stranger danger.
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We teach our children that the police will keep them safe.
But it’s hard to imagine how you’re even supposed to react when the people who harm your children are the police, who are supposed to help protect them.
Unfortunately, that’s the reality that one Oklahoma mother faced recently.
On April 11, a man entered a Pizza Hut in Hugo, Oklahoma, where he approached an employee from behind.
According to WFLA , the man pressed an object to the worker’s back and demanded money. He then left after the employee handed over the cash.
Police suspect that this man was 21-year-old William Devaughn Smith Jr., who they noticed was parked at a Hugo food center.
According to KXII , when they approached Smith’s pickup truck, he attempted to get away.
A representative from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said that Davis reversed his truck, hitting one officer.
A second officer reported nearly being hit and opened fire on the truck in response.
Davis was hit in the confrontation, but four children aged five, four, two, and one were also riding with him. Of these four, three were also shot and police confirmed that one of them was hit in the head.
The children’s mother, Olivia Hill, discussed their injuries more specifically.
As she told KXII, “My 4-year-old daughter was shot in the head, and she has a bullet in her brain. “
She was living every parent’s nightmare.
“And my 5-year-old has a skull fracture, my 1-year-old baby has gun shot wounds on her face and my 2-year-old child wasn’t touched with any bullets,” she said.
The representative from OSBI was reportedly unable to say whether officers knew the children were in the truck with Davis before firing.
As she said, “We’re still talking to witnesses, doing interviews and we’re still trying to find out exactly what happened.”
Minutes after speaking to KXII, Hill left to join her children at the Children’s Hospital at Saint Francis in Tulsa.
She said , “I mean my children, for crying out loud. Four innocent little children.”
By the day following the shooting, the OSBI could confirm the stricken children had non-life-threatening injuries.
As Davis was also wounded, he received treatment at a hospital in Paris, Texas.
![Image credit: Reddit | [deleted]](https://static.diply.com/EcYFu4cK1nIkFwmjX2W3.jpg)
He remains in police custody there and now faces a felony charge for first degree aggravated robbery.
The two officers involved reportedly experienced minor injuries.
According to the OSBI, both are now on paid administrative leave following the incident.
h/t: KXII
