Family of 11-year-old killed in New Year's shooting to pursue investigation of 911 services

The family of Amethyst Silva, the 11-year-old girl who was fatally shot on New Year's Day, has hired an attorney to investigate the response time of Corpus Christi emergency services.

Early on Jan. 1, law enforcement was notified of a shooting at Allure Apartments on Everhart Road, where two men had allegedly fired guns “in the direction of several habitations.” According to police, emergency crews responded to the scene and learned the family of the 11-year-old victim had taken her to the hospital.

More:Girl dies in Everhart Road shooting; two men arrested

During a press conference on Friday, the family's attorney, Mauricio Celis, said he and his clients believe the family's inability to reach 911 after the shooting may have contributed to Amethyst Silva's death.

"They attempted to call emergency services and were not able to get through to them," Celis said. "There was a failure, like I've told my clients, that either happened because of software, hardware or personnel. I intend to get to the bottom of that. We want to find out what the problem was and why members of this community tried to call the emergency services that we pay for and were not able to get through."

Corpus Christi police disputed claims that emergency services were unreachable at the time of the shooting. According to police, the initial 911 call from Silva's mother was received at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31.

"A 911 operator answered the call, noting there was silence, and the caller disconnected the phone," a news release from the police department in early January stated.

At midnight, a 911 dispatcher allegedly called back on the incomplete 911 call, noting the call went directly to voicemail, the police news release said. At 12:01 a.m., the 911 system received a call from a third party who said a juvenile had been shot.

The release stated that officers arrived on scene within two minutes of the shooting, but the parents had left before officers could make contact. Police say 911 does not disconnect calls and the call will continue to ring until a connection is made. If the caller abandons the call, an operator will return the phone call.

"We want to reiterate that this is no fault of the family, they were making every effort to receive life-saving measures for their loved one," the release stated.

Celis said he believes this isn't the only case in the community where 911 calls may have gone unanswered. Though he didn't dispute the police department's released timeline, he said he'd like to review the evidence.

"I want to see what the chief is looking at and I want to be able to see the same thing," Celis said. "I just know my clients tried to call and weren't able to get through, and if the chief wants to dispute that with my clients and myself, I'd be more than glad to do that.

"Anybody with common sense can see that something went wrong," Celis added. "Not just the perpetrators being out there doing something criminal, but after the fact."

Celis said the victim's father, Robert Silva, was detained at the hospital, preventing him from spending his last moments with his daughter.

"I don't think that it was right that we were held from seeing our daughter," Robert Silva said at the press conference. "We raised her, and we deserved and earned that right to know exactly when my baby passed, and for us to have to wait ... it just hurt. It still kills me and it's something I have to carry on for the rest of my life."

Two men were arrested in connection to Amethyst Silva's death. Deonis Poindexter, 29, and Jacob Leal, 43, were charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony.

The family's attorney did not disclose whether the family intends to sue in the future. As of Friday, no lawsuits relating to the case had been filed.

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