Detectives were still investigating the crime scene at a Tamarac hotel on Monday, days after a 3-year-old girl was shot and killed.
Video shows Broward Sheriff's deputies searching inside the hotel room at Extended Stay America, where family members say De'yonnie Cleveland was found lying in a pool of blood. Deputies used a K-9 to process the room, which has been roped off since Saturday. A makeshift memorial with teddy bears and flowers now sits a few steps away.
"It’s just unbelievable, unreal," said Connie Hayfley, the girl's aunt.
Hayfley said the shooting happened inside the room with the 3-year-old's mother nearby.
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"We’re all lost. I’m lost, my brother’s lost, her mom’s lost," Hayfley said. "I don’t know what else to say."
Exactly how the gun went off and struck the child is unclear.
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“The not knowing. And to know that my niece — bubbly, laughing, smiling, always running and joyful — that she’s not here anymore, that’s the worst part," Hayfley said. "That’s the worst part, that’s the worst part."
Hayfley described her niece as being full of life.
"Soon as she sees you, she likes to grab around your legs and hug you, 'Auntie, auntie,'" she said.
Hayfley and De'yonnie were close — so close that when her phone rang that day, she thought it was her niece.
"When I got the call, I thought it was her because she’s always calling," she said.
Investigators haven't revealed what happened inside the hotel room. Two people were detained after the shooting but were later released.
"People need to be more mindful of guns, especially around little kids," Hayfley said. "I don’t even think a gun should be present around a kid, whether you’re holding it or whatever. I think we gotta do better with guns."
Anyone with information is asked to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
