Hundreds turn out to rally for 7-year-old Jazmine

People pray during a community rally outside Walmart, 5655 East Sam Houston Pkwy N, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, in Houston for seven-year-old Jazmine Barnes, who was killed on Sunday. Jazmine was shot to death nearby while riding in a car with her mother and three sisters. less People pray during a community rally outside Walmart, 5655 East Sam Houston Pkwy N, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019, in Houston for seven-year-old Jazmine Barnes, who was killed on Sunday. Jazmine was shot to death ... more Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photographer Photo: Melissa Phillip, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 62 Caption Close Hundreds turn out to rally for 7-year-old Jazmine 1 / 62 Back to Gallery

Jazmine Barnes should have been looking forward to celebrating her 8th birthday next month — planning a party and making a wish list of gifts.

Instead, hundreds gathered Saturday in memory of the young girl who was killed in a drive-by shooting near a northeast Houston Walmart early last Sunday, a stunning incident that also left her sisters and mother injured by bullets and flying glass shards.

An almost weeklong manhunt for the shooter — described by the family as a white man with blue eyes driving a red four-door pickup — has captivated the nation and resulted in athletes and celebrities pledging donations to the family and a reward topping $100,000 for information leading to an arrest.

“It is going to be ‘Justice for Jazmine.’ I feel it in my heart, because there are too many people out here looking for this man,” her mother, LaPorsha Washington, said Saturday. “We’re going to find him, no matter where we got to turn and no matter what rock we got to go under. We’re going to find you.”

A crowd of several hundred encircled activist Deric Muhammad, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and community organizers during the two-hour rally. They often paused to chant “Justice for Jazmine,” as Muhammad called them “Jazmine’s Army.”

“This is a beautiful response to a horrific tragedy,” Muhammad said, as some onlookers stood on top of their cars in the Walmart parking lot. “We have to find out who killed this baby. We have to find out for all the little other Jazmines who are out there that could be in danger as well.”

Many who spoke said they feared the shooting was racially motivated.

“People may get angry at us for saying it, but hell, everybody is already thinking it,” Muhammad said, adding that those in attendance should be careful about using the composite sketch of the alleged killer to rush an apprehension of the wrong person.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, called Jazmine “the nation’s child” and asked for a federal task force to investigate the fatal shooting and for the federal government to issue a manhunt.

“We have some problems in Washington, something called a shutdown,” Jackson Lee said. “But there are essential employees that never leave their desk, and that is the federal law enforcement. That is the database that covers hate crimes — legislation that is now a federal offense. It is in no one’s interest to dumb down this incident.”

Gonzalez said investigators had been working the case “every single day,” scouring over tips sent in by the public.

“I made a commitment on behalf of the sheriff’s office and myself that we would not rest until we brought the killer to justice,” Gonzalez said. “We must stop this violence against anyone. Against anyone. We will not stop until we get justice for Jazmine.”

Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia had a message for the killer.

“Don’t live in a life of hell. Turn yourself in,” he said. “Be a man at least. You cannot live with this in your heart and your memory.”

Rapper Paul Wall, who also spoke at Saturday’s rally, called the little girl the “angel of Houston.”

“This is our angel now. This is our angel of Houston,” Wall said. “Jazmine represents something bigger. Something that we must stand for. We cannot fold for this.”

Jazmine’s great-aunt Elizabeth Cevilla-Perez through tears said she was amazed by the outpouring of support from the community and the hundreds gathered at the Walmart parking lot Saturday.

“They don’t even know her and here they are supporting us,” she said. “I’m so proud to be a Houstonian right now.”

michelle.iracheta@chron.com