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Texas police are searching for a gunman in a seemed red pickup truck who shot into a family car in the Houston area on December 30, 2018. The incident ended up killing a seven-year-old girl.
According to BBC, the seven-year-old, Jazmine Barnes, had been in a car with her mother and three sisters when they were attacked in what police called a “random and senseless” shooting.
What Happened To Jazmine Barnes?
Jazmine’s mother, LaPorsha Washington, told ABC 13 that she and her daughters were on their way to get coffee on Sunday morning, and had just driven past a Walmart when another car pulled up, and someone began to fire shots into her car.
“As I turned around and looked back at the street, I heard shots start firing and they came through my window, broke my glass, and hit me in the arm. The sped off in front of us and the truck slowed down and continued to fire as he was in front of us. It was not fair. It was not fair. He intentionally killed my child for no reason. He didn’t even know her, he didn’t know who she was,” Washington said.
The mother told CNN that she threw her body over her eldest daughter in the front passenger seat and told her other three daughters to “get down.” But after the shooting, one of her other daughters realized that Jazmine had been struck.
“She said: ‘Momma, Jazmine’s not moving. She’s not talking,'” Washington said. “I turned around and my 7-year-old was shot in the head.”
Jazmine was a second grader at a Houston-area elementary school. Her death, according to the New York Times, unnerved and perplexed her community. The family was attacked around 7 A.M. Sunday, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris County said.
Jazmine was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff said. Washington was shot in the arm and her six-year-old daughter suffered injuries from broken glass.
A Man Hunt Is Underway For The Suspect
According to the New York Times, the gunman was described as a white male in his 40s with beard, wearing a red, hooded sweatshirt and driving a red pickup truck. Police told the Times that they are still establishing a motive, and have not ruled out the possibility of a racially motivated hate crime.
“It’s our belief that it was totally unprovoked, whatever it was, and we’re leaving no stone unturned,” Sheriff Gonzalez said. “We’re going to leave every motive out there as a possibility. There was nothing to indicate that the family did anything wrong in any way. They were simply just driving along the service road when this happened to them.”
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is asking all residents in the area around Wallisville Road near the E. Sam Houston Parkway to check their surveillance videos to help find clues that may lead to Jazmine’s killer.
“My baby comes and asks me, ‘Where’s my sister? Is she coming back?’ She’s only six years old,” Washington said.
Jazmine’s father, Christopher Cevilla, told reporters at a news conference that his daughter was a “loving, caring” young girl. The conference was held on December 31, 2018.
“I’m asking, from the bottom of my heart,” Cevilla said. “Whoever knows anything, please step up at this point in time and help me and my family get justice for my baby girl.”
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the expenses the family may need.