A Texas man has been arrested and charged with capital murder after a roadway shooting over the weekend killed a 5-year-old girl, authorities said.
Jeremy Porter, 47, was booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston after investigators identified him as the suspect in the fatal shooting of Zah’Layah Walter, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
Authorities said evidence from the investigation, including data collected through automated license plate readers, helped identify Porter. He was arrested less than 24 hours after the shooting.
The shooting occurred Saturday night in northwest Harris County. Zah’Layah was traveling in a vehicle with her mother, Monica Hicks, and four siblings when someone opened fire, according to the sheriff’s office.
The gunfire struck the family’s vehicle and killed the 5-year-old girl, authorities said.
Hicks told local station KHOU that she was driving home from her mother’s house with her five children when the shooting began on Grant Road near Jones Road.
“All my kids in the back seat were screaming, and they continued to shoot in my car. And I did not know my daughter was hit until I pulled into my apartment,” Hicks said.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation is still underway.
“We stood alongside the family of 5-year-old Zay’Layah Walter, whose life was tragically taken in a roadway-related shooting. The person accused of taking her life has been arrested,” the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said in a Tuesday post on X.
“We remain committed to seeking justice for [Zah’Layah] and supporting her family.”
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
