A 47-year-old Texas man has been arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with a roadway shooting that killed a 5-year-old girl over the weekend.
Jeremy Porter was taken into custody and booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston after investigators identified him as the suspect in the fatal shooting of Zah'Layah Walter. According to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, investigators used evidence, including information obtained through automated license plate readers, to identify Porter, who was arrested less than 24 hours after the shooting.
The shooting occurred on Saturday night in northwest Harris County, where Zah'Layah was riding in a vehicle with her mother, Monica Hicks, and her four siblings. Authorities said bullets struck the vehicle, killing the 5-year-old. Hicks told a local news outlet that she was driving home from her mother's house with her five children when someone began shooting at the family's vehicle on Grant Road near Jones Road.
All of Hicks' children were in the back seat at the time of the shooting, and they were screaming as the gunman continued to fire into the vehicle. Hicks said she did not realize her daughter was hit until she pulled into her apartment. The Harris County Sheriff's Office said the investigation remains ongoing.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office issued a statement on social media, saying that they stood alongside the family of Zah'Layah Walter and remained committed to seeking justice for the 5-year-old and supporting her family.
NTC Report coverage is based on reporting from the original publisher.
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