Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins has dedicated Saturday’s game to Jazmine Barnes, a 7-year-old girl who was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting in Houston.
“On Saturday, I will be playing in your honor, Jazmine,” the three-time Pro Bowler said in a tweet posted Thursday.
When I see Jazmine Barnes’ face, I see my own daughter. I’m pledging my playoff check this week to help her family with funeral costs and to support @shaunking @SherriffED_HCSO @SylvesterTurner in bringing this man to justice. On Saturday, I will be playing in your honor, Jazmine pic.twitter.com/oCRYSgfGO9
— Deandre Hopkins (@DeAndreHopkins) January 3, 2019
Hopkins said he will donate his $29,000 playoff check to help to pay for funeral costs, and said he would join in the effort to bring Barnes’ killer to justice.
“When I see Jazmine Barnes’ face, I see my own daughter. I’m pledging my playoff check this week to help her family with funeral costs,” he wrote.
The girl was killed when a man in a pickup truck pulled up next to a Barnes’ mother’s car and started firing. Jazmine’s mother and three sisters were injured in the seemingly random attack.
The Texans play the Indianapolis Colts in a wild-card game on Saturday (4:35 p.m. ET, ESPN/ABC, ESPN App)
Hopkins also said he would join with Shaun King, a civil rights activist in New York, County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and Mayor Sylvester Turner help find Barnes’ killer. A reward has been offered for any information leading to an arrest. Services for Jazmine are Tuesday. Afterward, mourners will release purple balloons in her memory.