Mesquite father pleads for answers after he and his son were victims of a shooting New Year's Eve
MESQUITE — A father is pleading for answers after he and his one-year-old son were shot while having dinner with their family on New Year's Eve in Mesquite.
"I thank God that the outcome was a lot less severe than it could've been," he says.
The father didn't want his name used but did want to share his story with CBS News Texas.
Police released surveillance video from a neighbor that shows someone driving up in a dark SUV onto Springwood Drive. In the video, a person is seen getting out of that car and then you hear a loud 'bang'.
The father says it sounded like New Year's Eve fireworks.
"It shook the house, it shook the whole house," he said, "That's when I realized the gravity of the situation --- that I had been shot, because my shirt was just covered in blood."
The father says he realized his son was also hit in the side of the head by the same bullet.
"Just unimaginable, unfathomable pain that I was feeling, knowing that my son was involved in such a horrific crime and such a horrific incident. He doesn't deserve this," he adds with tears in his eyes.
He showed CBS News Texas the wound on his neck caused by the bullet that entered his home.
He also tells us that his son has bleeding in his brain and is on anti-seizure medication to keep the swelling down. Thankfully, his son is now home from the hospital, eating and playing.
"I feel like I feel like God was with me that night, and I also feel like my biological father was with us that night. Unfortunately, my dad passed away because of similar on violent crimes," the father explains, "He was the first person that I thought about what it all happened. I know that it was him that just barely pushed our heads out of the way. He pushed my head out of the way and my son's head just enough to not have any further serious injuries. I know that it was him and I thank him every night now."
CBS News Texas also followed up with the Mesquite Police Department on the status the investigation.
Investigators say they still do not have any leads on the suspect or the suspect's vehicle and are asking the public to contact them if they have any information that could help.