NBA great-turned TV analyst, Shaquille O’Neal is pitching in to help pay for the funeral service of Jazmine Barnes, the 7-year-old girl who was killed in a drive-by shooting.
Along with Houston Senior Police Officer Kenneth Miles, four-time NBA champion and 15-time All-Star brought a cashier’s check to Jazmine’s family last week to pay for the funeral, which is scheduled for Tuesday, CNN reported.
@houstonpolice Officer Kenneth Miles and @SHAQ join forces to cover funeral expenses for 7 year old #JazmineBarnes, the girl shot and killed while riding in a car with her mother and sisters. @kprc2 pic.twitter.com/awv7gtlBQ8
— Brandon Walker (@KPRC2Brandon) January 3, 2019
Jazmine was with her mother and siblings in their family car as they drove through Houston when she was shot in the head on Dec. 30. Eric Black Jr. 20, has been arrested and is expected to be charged with capital murder in her death on Monday. Black reportedly told police he drove the vehicle used in the shooting while a man in the passenger seat opened fire. A second person, currently in jail on drug charges, is also listed as a suspect in the shooting, according to CNN.
Another athlete, DeAndre Hopkins of the NFL’s Houston Texans, pledged his playoff game check to Jazmine’s family last week. Hopkins said it was a donation to help pay for funeral costs, the family’s needs and for the child’s mother’s hospital bills as she was shot in the same tragic event.
“That could have been anyone in my family,” Hopkins said, reiterating one of his tweets in which he said that he thought of his own 5-year-old daughter when he saw a picture of Jazmine.
According to the NFL, Hopkins was set to make $29,000 for Saturday’s AFC Wild Card game.
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