Houston officials said Monday they are now offering $30,000 for information about last week’s road rage shooting that left a 9-year-old girl in critical condition.
Mayor Sylvester Turner beseeched people at a news conference to submit tips leading to the arrest of those responsible for the shooting of Ashanti Grant, who was injured Tuesday and remains hospitalized.
Ashanti’s family told Houston police that a white GMC Denali pickup truck with a man and another passenger inside aggressively cut off the family’s vehicle as they were on their way to the grocery store.
The family told police that the Denali appeared to be racing with another vehicle when the Grants’ vehicle ended up stuck between them. The Denali driver followed the Grant family, swerving and cutting them off several times, KHOU-TV of Houston reported.
When the Denali was behind them, shots rang out, they said.
Video from a gas station captured the moment when the family pulled into a parking lot and realized the fourth-grader had been shot.
A $5,000 reward set last week for information leading to an arrest was raised Monday to $30,000, with Turner saying at the news conference that “people know” who shot the young girl.
Turner thanked members of Ashanti’s family for being on stage with him and said the city is “praying” for the girl’s recovery.
“When things happen to our kids, we will go the extra step to find you — because we are talking about our children,” Turner said.
He added that 125 police officers had been added to the city’s streets.
“Nine-year-old Ashanti is an innocent child who was struck by a bullet,” Turner said. “Ashanti should be in her school with her teachers and classmates and returning to her family. Instead she remains in a hospital, fighting to recover.”
“If that doesn’t move someone who has information to provide information … I don’t know what will,” he said.
Police Chief Troy Finner said his officers are looking for a suspect described as a Hispanic male of 20 to 30 years old and a possible female passenger.
The white Denali apparently had distinctive arrow markings on its turn signals.
Finner urged those responsible to turn themselves in, saying “every resource” is being dedicated to finding the perpetrators.
“But at this time we need more information,” he said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
