A man accused of the qualified murder of the death of Jazmine Barnes



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The Harris County Sheriff's Office announced on Sunday morning that a 20-year-old man had been charged with murder for the murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes, who was fatally shot in a car. in motion near Houston. months, when she and her family went for coffee.

Contrary to previous authorities' reports that the gunman was a white man, the man who was arrested and charged – Eric Black Jr. – is black, a spokesman for the sheriff's office said Sunday. The sheriff's office also said there could be other suspects. The investigators do not believe that Jazmine or his family were targeted, and that they were "possibly shot and wounded because of a mistaken identity," the sheriff's office said.

Jazmine was in the car with his mother and three sisters on December 30th. when a man in a red pickup truck parked next to them and started firing. Jazmine was shot in the head and died on the spot, police said.

Jason Spencer, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said Sunday that he did not know if Mr. Black had ever been sentenced to a jail sentence. It was not clear right away if Mr. Black had a lawyer.

The initial description of the gunman as a white man was based on stories of family-fired shots, the sheriff's office said at a press conference last week. . The case had attracted national attention across the country.

After the murder of Jazmine, the public mobilized to help the family. About 1,000 people attended a rally on Saturday.

Jazmine's mother, Porsha Washington, told The Houston Chronicle that she thought the attack was racially motivated.

is a mother – a black mother – with daughters, beautiful children, "Washington told CNN. "You took me my baby and you have no worries in the world."

Shaun King, prominent racial justice activist and columnist at Intercept, had offered a $ 100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooter. Hopkins, Houston Texans catcher, promised to donate his pay check for the playoff game this weekend to $ 29,000 to pay funeral of Jazmine.

at the arrest of Mr. Black, and that he admitted to having participated in the shooting.

million. Spencer said Mr. Black was from the Houston area.

"Our work is not over, but I think the people of Harris County can rest assured that we have made great progress," said Sheriff Ed Gonzalez of Harris County. , said Sunday in a statement

Lee Merritt, a lawyer from Jazmine's family based in Philadelphia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday morning.

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