San Antonio girl, 10, fatally shot in her bedroom

Jackie Vega talks about her daughter, Delilah Hernandez, 10, who was killed in a shooting, Thursday Nov. 23, 2017 at her home in the 100 block of Harwood Drive. Vega's sons Bishop Renaud,12, (center) and Malachi Renaud, 11, are pictured in background. less Jackie Vega talks about her daughter, Delilah Hernandez, 10, who was killed in a shooting, Thursday Nov. 23, 2017 at her home in the 100 block of Harwood Drive. Vega's sons Bishop Renaud,12, (center) and ... more Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close San Antonio girl, 10, fatally shot in her bedroom 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

Jackie Vega and her four children were asleep when she awoke to gunfire ripping through her North Side home on Thanksgiving morning. Running into her living room, she found her two boys.

“I threw them on the floor and covered their heads,” said Vega, 33. “My daughter was in the back room. I didn’t think it would’ve reached her.”

But Delilah Hernandez, 10, was struck as she slept, her mother said. First responders called to the house in the 100 block of Harwood Drive before 7 a.m. attempted to revive her and took her to University Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, San Antonio police said.

Investigators believe Delilah’s oldest brother, 19, was the intended target and interviewed him downtown.

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"The house has had problems in the past," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. "We believe it's gang-related directly to the brother."

By late in the evening, the family was back together in the home, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings and passing vehicles. Several people came by offering their condolences, but any sense of security Vega had during the 10 years they had lived there was gone.

“Now we don’t even want to go to sleep,” she said, standing on her porch with her two youngest boys next to a makeshift memorial with photos of Delilah.

“She was great,” Vega said of her daughter. “She would’ve been a great woman.”

A 4th grader at West Avenue Elementary, Delilah loved to dance and listen to rap artists such as Jeremih and Young Boy. She said she had dreams of becoming either a police officer or a “Youtuber,” a social media personality.

“She said they make a lot of money,” Vega recalled, breaking her stoicism with a smile.

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She doesn’t know anyone who would have targeted the family.

“I wish it would’ve been me instead of her,” Vega said. “They will be caught.”

McManus said police did not know whether the shooting was a drive-by or if the assailant had been on foot. Detectives were speaking to witnesses and trying to determine how many suspects might be involved.

“There’ll be a special place for (the shooter) when he goes to the next life,” McManus said. “This is unforgivable. I don't understand how anyone ... can be so selfishly insensitive about who might be on the other end of the bullet.”

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