Houston officials are offering a $30,000 award for information on a road rage incident that resulted in a critical injury of 9-year-old Ashanti Grant, per NBC News. Mayor Sylvester Turner initially offered $5,000 until Houston entrepreneur Tilman Fertitta donated an additional $25,000, reported ABC 13 News. The two are seeking information that could identify the shooter of the incident. Turner says people know who did it.
According to Houston police, Grant’s family had been cut off on the road by a white GMC Denali pickup truck on their way to the grocery store.
From NBC News:
According to the police statement, a white GMC Denali truck cut the family off several times on the freeway. When the truck maneuvered behind the family’s SUV, someone inside the truck shot at the SUV, striking the girl.
Surveillance video obtained by KPRC shows the family pulling over at a gas station and a woman running from the car and screaming.
The girl was taken to a local hospital and listed in critical condition, police said.
NBC reported Turner added 125 officers to the city’s streets in an attempt to locate the shooter. The vehicle reportedly had specific markings on its turn signals and Ashanti’s father described the driver of the vehicle as a Hispanic male between 20 and 30 years old, per ABC local.
Turner said he’s taking the extra step to find the shooter because this matter resulted in the senseless injury to a child. “Nine-year-old Ashanti is an innocent child who was struck by a bullet. 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,” said Turner via NBC.
This incident has also rekindled the conversation on recording footage from the traffic cameras in the city, which currently do not record, per ABC Local. Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said considering the rise in crime, recording should be considered.
Though Ashanti remains in critical condition, her grandmother told ABC local that her condition seems to be improving.