The grief-stricken family of an 8-year-old boy from Sacramento, California, said that he was a hero in the last moments of his short life.
Dante had reportedly tried to rescue his younger sister from an alleged sexual assault when he was attacked by the perpetrator, beaten with a hammer and left for dead, relatives said.
The child, who had just started third grade, died on Sept. 6 from his injuries.
“Trying to save his sister from this child molester, and that’s why he was beat the worst,” Dante’s grandmother, Monique Brown, told KTXL-TV this week. She described her grandson as a “sensitive” boy.
Dante’s heart was donated to a child in Southern California upon his death. “A 4-year-old lives because of [him],” Brown said.
Police have now charged Deandre Chaney Jr., the 23-year-old ex-boyfriend of Dante’s mother, with killing the boy and sexually assaulting his 7-year-old sister, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Investigators also say that Chaney, who has a long rap sheet including rape, robbery and assault charges, committed “lewd acts” on the girl on Sept. 1 before beating her, her brother and the children’s mother, 28-year-old Elizabeth Salone, with a hammer.
Salone told authorities that Chaney also doused her in lighter fluid before fleeing the scene.
Sacramento PD is looking for 23 yo Deandre Chaney Jr., in connection w/ hammer attack on woman & 2 children. All have major injuries @FOX40pic.twitter.com/gWg5DJstUm
— Nicole Comstock (@ComstockNEWS) September 2, 2017
The Bee, quoted an arrest warrant, which said Chaney cut off “his parolee ankle monitor and [hopped] on an Amtrak train bound for Salt Lake City.”
Chaney was arrested in Winnemucca, Nevada, on Sept. 2, after he was found hiding inside a shed.
He now faces murder and attempted murder charges, as well as a charge of committing lewd acts with a child under 14.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up by relatives of Dante’s family to help cover their medical bills and other expenses was trending on the crowdfunding website on Monday.
Hundreds of people have donated and the effort had raised more than $22,000 as of early Monday afternoon.
Dante’s grandmother said that the boy’s mother will likely suffer from permanent blindness in one eye due to the attack. And she also said that Dante’s sister will “need a lot of help.”
Brave 7-Year-Old Saves Baby Sister`s Life After Stray Bullet Hits Family`s Car
A 7-year-old girl has become a hero for saving her almost 2-year-old sister’s life after a stray bullet hit their family’s car in Oakland.
The girl’s mother informed police that she had parked her car in East Oakland just before noon to consult her GPS when the shots began.
The mother said that when she reached back to check on the child, she saw blood coming from her back. The Mom then asked her 7-year-old daughter to apply pressure to the wound while she sped to the hospital.
“It was like four or five [shots] and then a pause, and then like another four,” “Right after the last gunshot I heard a car peeling away.” said a nearby resident.
According to family members of the toddler, two cars were shooting at each other and the little girl got caught in the crossfire.
She was in stable condition after undergoing surgery. A family member said:
“I can let you know she is stable. And, we just ask for prayers. We’re holding up fine,”
Oakland police are still investigating the circumstances around the incident.