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Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre “Nuk” Hopkins has pledged his pay for this week’s NFL playoff game to the family of slain second-grader Jazmine Barnes for funeral costs and to be used towards the already $100,000 reward leading to the capture of the 7-year-old’s killer.
“When I see Jazmine Barnes’ face, I see my own daughter,” Hopkins wrote on Twitter in announcing not only the hefty donation but that he is dedicating the game to Barnes.
“On Saturday, I will be playing in your honor, Jazmine.”
“I’m pledging my playoff check this week to help her family with funeral costs and to support” activist and journalist Shaun King, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, and Houston mayor Sylvester Turner “in bringing this man to justice.”
As law enforcement is hunting her killer, her family and a community are grieving 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes, who was shot to death while riding in a car with her mother and sisters Sunday morning in Texas.
A white man in a pickup truck pulled up next to them and began shooting. Jazmine was shot and killed. Her mother, LaPorsha Washington, 30, sustained a gunshot wound to her arm. The killer is at large. He’s described as white, in his 40s, with a beard, wearing a red hoodie and driving a red pickup truck.
A Harris County Sheriff’s spokesman said they received a call about a shooting at around 7 a.m. Sunday. When sheriff’s deputies arrived, they found Washington’s vehicle stopped on the side of the main lanes of a beltway and inside were the family; Washington and her daughters, Jazmine, two girls under 15 and a 6-year-old, who was injured possibly by shattered glass. The teens were physically unharmed.
But Jazmine was shot and died before paramedics could get her to a hospital.
A Community Rally, a Purple Balloon Release & a Funeral Ceremony Planned
On Saturday, Jan. 5 at 12 noon in the Wal-Mart parking lot at 5655 East Sam Houston Parkway in Houston, a ‘Justice for Jazmine Barnes’ community rally is being held. On Tuesday, Jan. 8, a viewing, funeral ceremony and purple balloon release will be held beginning at 10 a.m. at the Green House International Church in Houston.
“Jazmine would soon be celebrating another birthday, instead her funeral is being planned.”
A Reward of $100,000 is Being Offered to the Person Who Helps Bring Jazmine’s Killer to Justice. Hopkins Said His Donation Would Also go Towards the Reward
Initially, a reward of $25,000 was announced. Then King tweeted he had $35,000 cash ready to go to the person that helped bring the killer in. A day later, civil rights lawyer S. Merritt Lee pledged money and the reward went up. And went up again. And again. The bounty for the man who shot the child to death stands at $100,000.
Thursday, King said leads had come in and were being followed up.
Hopkins Will Likely Earn $25,000 or More This Weekend Against the Colts
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Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins #10 of the Houston Texans celebrates against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on December 23, 2018 in Philadelphia.
Without getting into the weeds on the calculus, Hopkins may be in line to earn $25,000 or more for a few hours work this Saturday when the Texans meet the Indianapolis Colts at NRG stadium Saturday, Jan. 5. But whatever the amount, bonuses may come into play, the check is going to help pay for Jazmine’s funeral and to help bring her killer to justice.
Hopkins, drafted by the Texans in 2013, played college ball at Clemson.