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Man charged in shooting death of 7-year-old Texas girl

By Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Jazmine Barnes, 7, was killed in a drive-by shooting near a Houston-area Walmart last weekend, authorities said.

By Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

HOUSTON — UPDATE 10:50 a.m. EST Jan. 6: Authorities with the Harris County Sheriff's Office have charged Eric Black Jr., 20, with capital murder in the death of Jazmine Barnes. The 7-year-old girl was in a car with her family at a Houston-area Walmart Dec. 30 when shots were fired into the vehicle, injuring her family members and resulting in her death.

Authorities also released an image of Black:

Original story: Deputies have made an arrest in connection with the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl near a Houston-area Walmart.

According to The Associated Press, Eric Black Jr., 20, has been charged with capital murder in connection with the Dec. 30 slaying of Jazmine Barnes, 7, in Harris County.

A tip led to Black's arrest, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said in a news release early Sunday.

Investigators said Black "admitted to taking part in the shooting," the release said, adding that authorities are looking into evidence that could lead to more arrests.

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According to a Houston Chronicle report last week, LaPorsha Washington, 30, was driving near the Harris County store Dec. 30 with her four children when a man inside a red truck started shooting into their car, then fled, deputies said.

Washington's daughter, Jazmine, was shot and killed, the Chronicle reported. Washington suffered a gunshot wound to the arm, and a 6-year-old child also was hurt, the newspaper said.

Witnesses initially described the suspected shooter as a white man in his 40s with a beard, deputies said. The AP reported that the family of Jazmine, who was African-American, had thought "the shooting was racially motivated."

A mugshot or physical description of Black was not immediately available.

On Saturday, the Sheriff's Office tweeted that its investigation had "taken a new direction" and detectives were "interviewing persons of interest."

Cox Media Group

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