2nd Man Charged In Deadly Drive-By Shooting Of Houston 7-Year-Old
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Houston area authorities announced Tuesday a second man has been charged in the fatal drive-by shooting of a 7-year-old Houston girl, whose death her family had initially believed was racially motivated.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office said 24-year-old Larry D. Woodruffe has been charged with capital murder in the December 30 deadly shooting of Jazmine Barnes.
Authorities previously said that they believe Woodruffe was the person in an SUV who fired on Jazmine and her family as they drove to a store. The driver of the SUV, 20-year-old Eric Black Jr. has also been charged with capital murder.
Authorities say Woodruffe and Black mistakenly thought they were attacking people they'd previously fought at a club hours earlier when they shot at Jazmine and her family.
Witnesses had described the shooter as a white man driving a red pickup truck, prompting concerns by the family and activists that Jazmine's death was a hate crime.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he believes the initial description was sincere and the man in the red truck was likely a bystander who left the scene of the shooting.
Woodruffe was charged as Jazmine's funeral took place Tuesday afternoon, attended by hundreds of people at a Houston church.
Woodruffe and Black were both taken into custody on Saturday. The sheriff's office said they identified Woodruffe and Black as suspects based on a tip from social activist and writer Shaun King that was corroborated by their investigation.
While Black was charged on Sunday with capital murder, Woodruffe was being held in the county jail on a drug charge while authorities prepared a capital murder charge against him.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)