Suspect Charged With Murder of Jazmine Barnes

Eric Black, 20, has been charged with the murder of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes.

He was arrested early Sunday and admitted to being involved in the shooting, as per a statement by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

“Investigators are continuing to pursue evidence that could possibly lead to other suspects being charged in this case,” the statement said. “At this time, investigators do not believe Jazmine’s family was the intended target of the shooting, and that they were possibly shot as a result of mistaken identity.”

Barnes was in a car with her mother, LaPorsha Washington and three sisters when a man drove up to their vehicle and opened fire. Jazmine was struck in the head, meanwhile her mother was shot in the arm. Washington’s 6-year-old daughter was hit by shattered glass, and her teenage girls weren’t harmed.

Prior to the arrest, the sketch compiled by Washington and her daughters suggested that the suspect was a white man in his 40s.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the arrest “should serve as a warning to all violent offenders who prey on our community” that they will be arrested eventually.”It’s now my hope that justice will prevail and that Jazmine’s family will find some comfort knowing the alleged gunman is off the street,” he said.

Without much detail, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said they’re taking the investigation in a “new direction.”