Father of Texas Girl Killed in Drive-By Shooting Makes Emotional Appeal: 'Put Yourself in My Shoes'
A grieving father has asked for the public to come forward and assist police in their continued search for the gunman who killed his 7-year-old daughter near a Walmart outside of Houston early Sunday morning, PEOPLE confirms.
“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,” said Christopher Cevilla, addressing news cameras during a press conference, Monday, on the drive-by shooting that killed his little girl, Jazmine Barnes.
“Just put yourself in my shoes — in my family’s shoes,” Cevilla implored.
Jazmine was with her mother and three siblings shortly before 7 a.m. local time on Sunday when investigators say a man pulled up next to them in a red or maroon pickup truck.
The suspect fired several shots at the vehicle. One bullet found Jazmine, killing her instantly.
The girl’s mother, LaPorsha Washington, 30, was shot once in the arm. Jazmine’s 6-year-old sister sustained injuries caused by shards of broken glass. Two teens who were in the car escaped uninjured.
Police are still trying to determine if the shooting was random or if the shooter targeted the car specifically.
The shooter is described as a bearded white male in his 40s. He was wearing a red hoodie at the time of the shooting.
Washington spoke with local news station KTRK from her hospital bed. She said the bullets “came through my window, broke my glass, and hit me in my arm.” Then, the shooter “sped off in front of us and stopped, and still continued to fire at us.”
Washington told KTRK the gunman “intentionally killed my child for no reason. He didn’t even know her. He didn’t even know who she was.”
The station reports that Jazmine was enrolled in the second grade at Monahan Elementary in Houston.
At Monday’s press conference, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez spoke to the shooter, encouraging him to turn himself over to authorities, warning: “We’re going to find you.”
? Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Jazmine’s relatives.
Anyone who may have relevant information is asked to call 713-274-9100 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. Anonymous tips can also be left online at Crime-Stoppers.org.