Deputies in Houston, Texas have released a sketch of the male suspect in the murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes.
This is the man witnesses say murdered 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes on 12/30 as her family drove on the E. Sam Houston Pkwy frontage road at Wallisville Road. Thin white man, 30’s-40’s, in a red pickup. Call 713-221-6000 or @CrimeStopHOU at 713-222-TIPS #JusticeForJazmine #hounews pic.twitter.com/URR3w2Wxbm
— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) January 3, 2019
In a press conference on Monday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez called the shooting senseless, unprovoked and seemingly “random.”
“It just seems to be random,” Gonzalez said Monday. “There is 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.”
Gonzalez said Jazmine was in a car with her mother and three siblings Sunday morning when a man in a red pickup truck pulled up next to them, and opened fire. Barnes was fatally struck. Her mother sustained a non-life threatening bullet wound to the arm, Gonzalez said. One of Jazmine’s sisters, a 6-year-old, was struck by shattered glass. Authorities at first described the suspect as having a beard.
Help us identify the person who killed 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes on Sunday. If you live near Wallisville Rd/ E. Sam Houston Pkwy look over your surveillance video. We’re looking for a 4-door red truck. If you have info call 713-221-6000 or @CrimeStopHOU at 713-222-TIPS. #HouNews pic.twitter.com/nyMudgs60x
— HCSOTexas (@HCSOTexas) December 31, 2018
“Everytime I wake up I want it to be a dream,” Barnes’s mother LaPorsha Washington told CNN while recovering from the hospital. “I want to wake up and see my 7-year-old run through the door and give me a hug and a kiss. It’s all so unreal to me right now.”
She suggested that the shooting could have been motivated by racism and pointed out that there were no tint on her windows, so it was possible to look inside. Barnes and her relatives are black. The suspect is described as white.
Washington called on the suspect to turn himself in.
Will not rest until we find #JusticeForJazmine. Our @HCSOTexas team is working hard to bring closure to her family. Jazmine would soon be celebrating another birthday, instead her funeral is being planned. No words. Thank u @shaunking @pastordeckard & all our community 4 support pic.twitter.com/HKIw99kK2V
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) January 3, 2019
[Image via Harris County Sheriff’s Office]
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