Police are investigating a shooting outside a Walmart store in Houston, Texas, that left a 7-year-old girl dead and several others injured. Now an urgent manhunt is underway for her killer, who is described as a bearded white man in his 40s.
Harris County authorities said Jazmine Barnes was fatally shot as she and her mother left a Walmart parking lot early Sunday morning, ABC 13 reported. The girl’s mother, LaPorsha Washington, was also struck but survived the attack. Three teenage girls, believed to be relatives, were also in the car at the time and suffered minor injuries.
Harris County authorities said a 40-something white male suspect pulled up beside LaPorsha Washington’s car and began shooting into the vehicle. (Image courtesy of ABC 13)
“Please keep this family in your prayers,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez tweeted Sunday night. “A total of 5 occupants in the car witnessed this innocent child, their loved one, shot and killed before their eyes. So senseless. It’s never easy, and extra hard during the holiday season.”
According to deputies, Barnes was killed when the unknown suspect pulled up beside her mom’s car around 7 a.m. in a red pickup truck and opened fire. Washington sped away on a feeder road, then made a U-turn and entered the toll road before coming to stop on the shoulder.
A motive for the shooting remains unclear. Authorities are now working to determine if the shooting was targeted or at random.
The killer, who remains at large, is considered “armed and dangerous,” police Major Jesse Razo told reporters this week. He said detectives are now scouring the area and checking surveillance video for any possible evidence.
“We’re going to use all resources available to bring this killer to justice,” before urging the suspect to surrender. “Someone who does something like that will eventually talk about it, and we need anyone with information to come forward. Because we will be looking for you, we will locate you, we will find you.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Harris County Sheriff’s Office 713-222-TIPS.
Watch more in the video below.
