Houston Texans wide receiver donates NFL check to help find killer who gunned down 7-year-old girl at Walmart parking lot
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As the search for a mysterious gunman who shot and killed 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes continues, Houston Texans NFL wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins announced he would donate his NFL check to help catch the killer. The reward for the suspect has now grown to $100,000.

CNN reports that Hopkins announced on Twitter that he plans to donate his playoff check from the upcoming AFC wild-card game against the Indianapolis Colts, scheduled for Saturday at 4:45 p.m. Hopkins’ $29,000 check will assist in paying funeral costs for Jazmine and to help authorities in catching the killer.

“On Saturday, I will be playing in your honor, Jazmine,” Hopkins posted on Twitter.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Jazmine lost her life early Sunday morning as her mother drove near the Walmart off of the 15400 block of Wallisville in Houston. The little girl’s mother, 30-year-old LaPorsha Washington, was in the car with her four daughters, ranging in ages from six to 16, when an unknown man pulled up to her car and started shooting.

A bullet hit Washington in the arm and also struck two of her children, a 6-year-old daughter and Jazmine. Washington and her 6-year-old are expected to be OK, but Jazmine died almost instantly after a bullet reportedly hit her in the head.

Washington told ABC that the shooter appeared out of nowhere as she was out getting coffee. Family members were in town to celebrate the holidays; Washington and her girls were blindsided and shot at before she could make it back home.

“As I turned around and looked back at the street, I heard shots start firing and they came through my window, broke my glass, and hit me in my arm. They sped off in front of us and the truck slowed down and continued to fire as he was in front of us. It was not fair. It was not fair. He intentionally killed my child for no reason. He didn’t even know her, he didn’t know who she was.”

Jazmine Barnes
Jazmine Barnes [Handout]
Washington immediately began driving toward the hospital when one of her children told her that Jazmine wasn’t moving.

“She said, ‘Momma, Jazmine’s not moving. She’s not talking.’ I turned around and my 7-year-old was shot in the head.”

Jazmine’s father, Christopher Cevilla, wasn’t there when his little girl got shot, but he’s pleading for anyone with any information to come forward, according to CNN.

“I just want anybody, whoever, out there that knows anything about the murder of my daughter, to just please step up as if it was your own,” Cevilla told reporters on Monday. “Just put yourself in my shoes, in my family’s shoes.”

Sheriff Ed Gonzalez with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said he felt the attack was unprovoked and there’s nothing that shows the family did anything to prompt the shooting.

“It’s our belief that it was totally unprovoked, whatever it was, and we’re leaving no stone unturned. We’re going to leave every motive out there as a possibility. There was 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.”

The gunman fled the scene in a 4-door red pickup truck with no license plate. Police said the suspect, who wore a red hoodie during the attack, is described as a white male with a beard who appeared to be in his 40s.

Hopkins joined civil rights activist, Shaun King, who also offered a reward for information that leads to the suspect.

Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS. The suspect is considered armed and dangerous.

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The story is developing. Check back with CrimeOnline as additional details become available.

[Feature Photo: Jazmine Barnes/Handout]