Houston girl, 9, dies, wrongly shot by robbery victim, police say; adding to rash of child gun victims
A 9-year-old girl has died in Houston after an unrelated robbery victim shot at the vehicle she was in with her family
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A 9-year-old girl has died in Houston after getting shot during an unrelated robbery when the victim shot at the vehicle she was in with her family in the latest instance of gun violence that has injured or killed children in Texas' largest city in recent weeks.
The girl, identified by family members as Arlene Lynette Alvarez, was initially hospitalized in critical condition but later died in a hospital, the Houston Police Department said Tuesday afternoon.
Tony Earls, the robbery victim, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault - serious bodily injury. The deadly incident began when Earls, 41, was with his wife at a drive-thru ATM at 9:45 p.m. when someone walked up and robbed them, police said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HOUSTON-AREA OFFICIALS BLAST JUDGES OVER DISMISSAL OF MANY CRIMINAL CASES, CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY
Arlene Lynette Alvarez, 9, died Tuesday after being shot hours earlier when a robbery victim opened fire on the vehicle she was in, Houston police said. (KRIV)
The suspect fled and Earls opened fire with his own weapon, police said. He then allegedly shot at a pickup truck he thought the suspect was in.
Inside the vehicle was a family of five who were not involved in the robbery, police said. Alvarez was in the backseat and was struck by gunfire. Earls was arrested a short time later.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The robbery suspect remains at-large.
The shooting came as another 9-year-old remains hospitalized after being shot while inside a vehicle with her family on a Houston freeway. Ashanti Grant was shot in the head on Feb. 8 when someone inside a GMC Denali opened fire into the vehicle she was in during an apparent road rage incident.
Tony D. Earls, 41, is charge din connection with the death of a 9-year-old girl during a robbery. (Houston Police Department )
The driver of the SUV allegedly cut off the family's vehicle several times before shots rang out, police said. No arrests have been made in the case. A $30,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the capture of the suspect or suspects involved.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Even the streets have rules," Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said Monday during a news conference to announce the reward in Grant's case. "If we allow this to go on in our city, it'll continue and we're batting about .1000… when you put your hands on our kids in this city."
The same day Grant was shot, a 13-year-old girl was shot multiple times outside a grocery store. She was sitting inside a vehicle when a suspect walked up and struck her with gunfire, police said.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in the case.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ashanti Grant, 9 is one of several children struck by gunfire throughout the Houston area in recent weeks. (GoFundMe/ NaTasha Grant)
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On Feb. 4, Darius Dugas Jr., 11, was shot and killed in a northeast Harris County apartment complex parking lot when he went to go fetch his jacket from a car. Just four days into 2022, Arianna Delane, the niece of George Floyd, was injured when someone opened fire into an apartment she was in.