Pasadena police have charged a 35-year-old man with capital murder in connection with the death of his six-year-old relative after an alleged argument over spilled water escalated.
According to KPRC, the incident occurred at an apartment complex in the city on Friday morning. The suspect, identified as Raymeon Means, is currently being held without bond.
Narrating the incident to the news outlet, a neighbor said Means came over to their apartment to have a discussion with them not too long before the shooting. “He knocked on the door and he was like, ‘Oh, can you check if you have water coming down because the little girl clogged the toilet,’” Mauricio Alvarez said.
Shortly after Means left, Alvarez said they heard sounds of arguing. “[The family member] was banging on a car. The woman upstairs had a knife and they were saying, ‘Get out of here. Get out of here!’” Alvarez recalled. “[Later] he went running upstairs, and we heard like 4-5 shots, and he started running, and we started hearing screams.”
The police said the six-year-old girl, identified as Laurionne Walker, was transported to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
KPRC reports this is the second time in a matter of days that an unfortunate tragedy has befallen the family. Relatives said Laurionne’s uncle also lost his three children and their mother after a suspected drunk driver rammed into their car in Harris County, Texas, on March 14.
The suspect in that case, Daniel Canada, has been reportedly charged with four counts of intoxication manslaughter and one count of intoxication assault.
“I am out of words. I’m choked up right now,” Earline House, the grandmother of the four deceased minors, said.