Houston robbers gun down 4-year-old girl in front of mother

Four-year-old Ava was killed while Betzida Castillo, 10, and their mom were shot during a robbery in northwest Harris County on November 14, 2016.

The city of Houston, Texas is in uproar after an outrageous attack that has taken the life of a preschooler and critically injured the girl's mother and young sister.

Law enforcement officials in Harris County say about 8:40 p.m. Monday a 27-year-old mother and her two kids, one 10 years old and the other 4, were bringing groceries inside their apartment

Suddenly a four-door car pulls up and two men inside ask the woman for her purse. She refuses. Police say that is when one of them took out a firearm and started shooting the trio at very close range.

The mother was shot in the stomach, but bent over to try to shield the children. The 4-year-old girl was shot in the head. Her motherly instincts were so strong that she did not even know she was wounded until a deputy realized it and got her some assistance.

Both surviving victims were taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police are

Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Thomas Gilliland called the attempted robbery "an absolute tragedy," according to ABC13 news station.
 "A 4-year-old and a 10-year-old shot is pretty horrendous. When you have children involved, it's not a great scene to be at."

Police are searching for as many as three black males in the brazen attack.

"We have investigators here, deputies combing through, hopefully we’ll be able to catch a break and catch these guys," Gilliland said, according to KHOU-TV.