Sheriff: Girl’s killing wasn’t race related

The shooting took place at a stoplight in Houston while 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes, her mother and three sisters were on their way to the grocery store.

HOUSTON — A black man was arrested and charged with murder in the killing of a 7-year-old black girl in a drive-by shooting that authorities said Sunday appeared to be a case of mistaken identity, not a racially motivated attack, as her family feared.

Jazmine Barnes' family had described the gunman in the Dec 30 slaying as a white man driving a red pickup and believed race played a role in the shooting.

But acting on a tip received by a civil rights activist, the sheriff's department zeroed in instead on Eric Black Jr, a 20-year-old black man who admitted he was driving a dark-colored SUV from which a passenger opened fire, authorities said.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said authorities have identified the second suspect, who is also black, but would not say whether the person was in custody.

Gonzalez cautioned that authorities were still investigating, but said: "At this point, it does not appear it was related to race."

Chris Sevilla, Jazmine's father, said in a brief telephone interview that he was feeling "a bit of relief right now" after the arrest.

The shooting took place at a stoplight while Jazmine, her mother and three sisters were on their way to the grocery store.

At a court hearing early Sunday, prosecutors said a confidential source had contacted the sheriff by email and told him the killers had "shot the car by mistake", thinking the vehicle was someone else's that they had seen earlier that night. Prosecutors did not say why the killers opened fire.

The sheriff said there was, in fact, a red truck at a stoplight just before the shooting, but the driver did not appear to have been involved. Gonzalez said it was dark, the shooting happened quickly, and the truck was probably the last thing seen by the Jazmine family.

Authorities want to talk to the person in the red pickup to get his account of the crime, Gonzalez said.

Black, who was arrested Saturday night during a traffic stop, was charged with capital murder and jailed without bail. Court records did not list an attorney for him. Prosecutors said the 9 mm handgun believed used in the shooting had been recovered from Black's home.

During Sunday's hearing, prosecutors said Jazmine's mother, LaPorsha Washington, had tried to drive to a hospital after the shooting, but one of her front tires had been shot out.

After the shooting, a composite sketch of a white man in a dark hood was widely circulated.

In California, three men were fatally shot late on Friday and four injured when a brawl at a popular Los Angeles-area bowling alley and karaoke bar erupted into gunfire sending terrified patrons, including children, running for their lives.

Police in the coastal city of Torrance responded shortly after midnight to calls of shots fired at the Gable House Bowl. They found seven people with gunshot wounds.

Three men were pronounced dead at the scene and two were taken to a hospital, Sergeant Ronald Harris said. Two other men were struck by gunfire but "opted to seek their own medical attention".

Witnesses said the fight stemmed from a fight between two large groups.

Dwayne Edwards, 60, of Los Angeles, said he received a call from his nephew that his 28-year-old son, Astin Edwards, was one of those killed. His nephew told him his son was attempting to break up a fight when a gunman "just started unloading".

A grieving mother told KABC-7 her 28-year-old son, Robert Meekins, was also trying to break up the fight and that Meekins and Astin Edwards were friends.

"They were friends, so I know he probably jumped in and helped Astin and whoever he was with … but I don't think my son deserves to die," Anglean Hubbard said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS