FORT WORTH, Texas — Relatives of the young sisters killed in a July 4 shooting in Fort Worth tell WFAA they have not slept since the tragedy.
The family is making funeral arrangements for 1-year-old Ivy Pierce and 4-year-old Wynter Thouston. Emergency room doctors pronounced the siblings dead before 1 a.m. Friday, almost an hour after they were shot during a fireworks celebration.
Police arrested 26-year-old Kanard Murphy with Capital Murder of Multiple Persons. They say he shot five people, killing the two children and 42-year-old Terrell Winn.
"He took three innocent lives, where people were just out enjoying fireworks," said the girls' cousin, Brianna Mills. "In an instant, our lives will never be the same. How are we even supposed to move forward?"
Mills and the girls' parents gathered with other relatives in Fort Worth on Sunday before returning to Tyler for the funeral. Baby Wynter's father was also injured in the shooting.
Through tears, the girl's mother told WFAA she tried to perform CPR on her wounded daughters.
"I couldn't save my babies," she cried. "Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces."
Court records indicate the family was in their car, preparing to leave the fireworks celebration Thursday when the gunfire started.
An arrest warrant for Murphy says he engaged in a fight with another show attendee. The two knew each other and had a history of confrontations, police say.
Witnesses told authorities Murphy sat down his own infant and picked up a rifle from his car. According to the warrant, the 26-year-old chased the target through the car wash, shooting.
Court records indicate the five people Murphy injured were bystanders who had nothing to do with the fight. Mills said her family moved from Tyler to Fort Worth about one month ago and did not know Murphy.
"It's hard on everybody, especially the parents," she said. "This has had a tremendously devastating effect on us."
The family said the 1-year-old was growing into her personality and stayed "attached to her momma's leg."
The 4-year-old enjoyed swimming and playing on an iPad. She was "a light in everyone's life," Mills said.
Together, relatives said the pair were "peas in a pod." They shared videos of the girls swimming, hugging, and riding in the car together.
The family is accepting donations for the girls' funeral through this GoFundMe page.