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Comedian Rickey Smiley's Teen Daughter Shot Multiple Times In Houston
Rickey Smiley's daughter Aaryn described the shooting as "the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me" and said she won't be able to walk for a while after suffering nerve damage.
Comedian Rickey Smiley’s 19-year-old daughter was shot multiple times over the weekend in Houston on her way to get food at a local restaurant.
Smiley, 51, described the anguish of learning that his youngest daughter Aaryn had been shot Sunday night in his morning radio show “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” on Monday as the comedian was making plans to travel to Houston to be close to his daughter while she underwent surgery.
“I wasn’t even going to say nothing about this. I’ve been dealing with this all morning sitting up here with butterflies in my stomach. I’ve been trying to do a show. My youngest daughter was shot last night,” he said.
Smiley said his daughter had been on her way to Whataburger to get something to eat Sunday night when she was caught in gunfire and struck by multiple bullets.
“I am just so angry right now,” Smiley said, who later tweeted Monday that his daughter had made it out of surgery and was “doing great.”
The comedian said he had gone to bed Sunday night around 8:30 p.m. or 9 p.m. and woke up to find urgent text messages alerting him to the shooting.
The comedian was able to speak with his daughter Monday morning—but due to the restrictions in place because of COVID-19, he said he likely wouldn’t be able to see her in person even after he arrived in Houston.
“She’s crying, she’s scared. I can’t get to her and I just hate it,” he said on the morning show.
The Houston Police Department confirmed to People that there had been a shooting Sunday night. According to authorities, three men were sitting inside of a car at a stop light when another vehicle pulled up and began firing.
A third car—where a female had been sitting in the passenger seat—was unintentionally caught in the crossfire. The woman and three men all suffered non-life-threatening injuries police said.
Aaryn described the terrifying incident herself on her Instagram Stories, along with photos of her blood-soaked passenger seat and images of a hospital bed.
“This is the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me,” she wrote. “I won’t be out of the hospital for a while nor will I be able to walk for a while due to the nerve damage.”
Aaryn said she was relieved to be alive.
“[T}he fact that the bullets that went thru my legs were armored riffled [sic] bullets made to go through anything (how they got through the car) but the one [that] would have hit me in the head was not that kind and ended up lodged in the car. God,” she wrote. “Words can’t describe how grateful i am to be alive right now.”
Smiley—who had gushed about his daughter on Instagram just months earlier after her first day working at Starbucks—arrived in Houston later on Monday, according to a post on Twitter.
“I respect the rules. Can’t see my daughter because of #covid19..it’s getting dark and I’m not leaving this park until I lay eyes on her. #Houston (thanks to the @houstonpolice for being so awesome and kind to us),” he wrote, alongside a photo of himself wearing a face mask.
On his morning show Monday, Smiley discussed the surge of violence the holiday weekend brought to cities across the country and advocated for change.
“I get to wait in the lobby until the doctor comes down and I get to text and talk to my daughter ‘cause I spoke to her this morning, she was crying and scared, but just think about all the parents, forget me, forget me, think about all the parents that got to go pick out a casket this morning,” he said.
