HOUSTON — Hundreds of people came to support the family of 9-year-old Arlene Alvarez at a vigil Wednesday night in southeast Houston.
Alvarez was shot and killed on Valentine’s Day outside the Chase bank on Woodridge Drive and the Gulf Freeway. The man arrested was Tony Earls, 41. He’s charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
“We cannot have someone shooting at a vehicle taking the law into their hands," said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, (D) Houston.
RELATED: Heartbroken parents of 9-year-old girl shot and killed after ATM robbery want justice for Arlene
Houston police say Earls was at an ATM around 9:45 p.m. when he was robbed. They say he started shooting at the suspect as he ran away. Investigators say Earls shot at the truck he thought the suspect got into, but it was the wrong car. It was the car the Alvarez family was in.
“I told everyone to get down and Arlene is the only one that didn’t get down. Duck down Arlene, duck down, I didn’t scream loud enough, didn’t know she had her headphones," said Armando and Gwen Alvarez.
The family’s attorney said Earls crossed the line, taking matters into his own hands.
“That person is not firing back and now they are running away from you give chase and you become the aggressor," said attorney Rick Ramos.
The robbery suspect, the person who police say initially approached Earls at the ATM is still on the run. Houston Police asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers 713-222-8477.