Three-year-old Amazi Aplon was remembered for his smile, singing and dancing as relatives prepared to lay him to rest.
DALLAS, Texas — The family of 3-year-old Amazi Aplon is preparing to bury a child remembered for his bright smile and affectionate personality while Dallas police continue trying to determine how he was fatally shot at an apartment complex early Sunday.
Aplon died after officers responded around 1 a.m. Oct. 11 to a shooting on Wadsworth Drive in South Oak Cliff, near Loop 12 and Interstate 45. Police found the boy with a gunshot wound and began lifesaving measures before Dallas Fire-Rescue took him to a hospital, where he died. The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him the following day.
As detectives investigate, Aplon’s relatives have begun describing the life behind the police report. His grandmother, Felicia Kirvin, told CBS Texas that her grandson, whom relatives called Mazi, was loving, kind and respectful. She said the family was struggling with the loss of a child whose life had only begun.
A funeral home obituary for Amazi Ray Joseph Aplon says he was born July 23, 2023. His family remembered him as a child who loved singing and dancing and found happiness in ordinary moments, including waiting for his sisters at their school bus stop. The obituary describes him as a son, brother and grandson whose personality brought joy to his family.
Neighbors also described a close-knit setting shaken by the shooting. NBC 5 reported that residents who knew the family regularly saw the children playing outside. CBS Texas reported that neighbors heard cries for help early Sunday and saw Aplon and his mother in the parking lot before emergency crews arrived.
Those accounts have not resolved the central question of how Aplon was shot. Dallas police have said the circumstances and motive remain under investigation. Authorities have not publicly said who fired the gun, whether the shooting was intentional or accidental, or whether anyone is expected to face charges.
FOX 4 reported that Child Protective Services was contacted and that Aplon’s mother was questioned during the investigation. Police have not announced that she committed a crime. No arrest had been reported, and investigators had not publicly identified a suspect as of Wednesday.
The family’s public remembrance is unfolding while detectives continue gathering information. Aplon’s obituary lists a viewing for Oct. 22 in Dallas and a funeral for Oct. 23, followed by burial in Grand Prairie. Those services will come less than two weeks after the shooting that left relatives and neighbors seeking an explanation for his death.
The investigation remains open. Police have not released a final account of what happened inside or around the apartment complex, and no criminal charge has been announced. For Aplon’s family, those unanswered questions remain alongside preparations to say goodbye to the 3-year-old they knew as Mazi.
Author note: Last updated October 14, 2026.