Texas Man Arrested in Fatal Roadway Shooting of 5-Year-Old

A Texas man has been arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with a roadway shooting that killed a 5-year-old girl over the weekend, authorities said.

Jeremy Porter, 47, was taken into custody and booked into the Harris County Jail in Houston after investigators identified him as the suspect in the fatal shooting of Zah'Layah Walter, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Investigators used evidence, including information obtained through automated license plate readers, to identify Porter, who was arrested less than 24 hours after the shooting.

The shooting occurred Saturday night in northwest Harris County. Zah'Layah was riding in a vehicle with her mother, Monica Hicks, and her four siblings when someone opened fire on the family's vehicle. Bullets struck the vehicle, killing the 5-year-old.

Hicks told local outlet KHOU she was driving home from her mother's house with her five children when someone began shooting at their vehicle 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 stated that the investigation is ongoing. The department wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, "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. We remain committed to seeking justice for [Zah'Layah] and supporting her family."