Texas man thought he shot a robber, and killed a girl 1:04
(CNN) --
Nine-year-old Arlene Alvarez was sitting in the backseat of her parents' car, wearing headphones to watch a movie on the way to a Houston restaurant for Valentine's Day dinner.
The girl's father, Armando Alvarez, made a stop at a self-service ATM, where he witnessed a robbery in progress.
Gunshots rang out suddenly and Armando told his family to take cover, but Arlene couldn't hear him, her father said during an emotional news conference Wednesday.
A 9-year-old girl was shot in the head during a traffic violence incident in Houston.
She is now in an induced coma
The girl was hit by gunfire and was transported to a nearby hospital, where she died the next day of serious injuries.
"Get down, Arlene," her mother, Gwen Alvarez, said through tears at the news conference as she explained the moments before her daughter was shot.
"I didn't scream loud enough. I didn't know I had the headphones on."
The shooting was a 'case of mistaken identity', police say
Arlene was allegedly shot by a man identified as Tony D. Earls, 41, in an apparent case of mistaken identity, according to the Houston Police Department.
Earls is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, the department said.
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CNN has not been able to determine if Earls obtained legal advice and contacted the public defender's office.
According to CNN affiliate KHOU, Houston police said Earls did not know anyone had been hit by his gunshots.
He left the scene to call the police to report the robbery, KHOU reported.
The police department said Earls opened fire on a suspect who robbed him at gunpoint at an ATM at a Chase Bank branch in the Houston area.
The suspect fled the scene, police said, but Earls then fired at a vehicle he mistakenly believed belonged to the man who robbed him.
The police received a piece of information that was essential to find the 6-year-old girl who disappeared in 2019 and was found under a staircase
Instead, the Alvarez family was in the vehicle.
Armando saw the shooter just 10 feet away as the man continued to "spray the vehicle," he said.
One of the shots hit Arlene in the head and she saw her daughter "go down immediately," Armando added.
"I immediately stopped, I took her out of the vehicle," Armando said during the press conference.
"I hope no one has to go through this."
Rick Ramos, an attorney for the Alvarez family, said Earls doesn't have a valid case for self-defense because there was no "immediate threat or fear" for his safety when he opened fire because the robbery suspect had already fled the scene.
"At that point, you lose your right to self-defense," he added.
The identity of the robbery suspect, who remains at large, is still under investigation, Houston Police Chief Matt Slinkard said.
“Any time weapons are involved, the danger to innocent bystanders is extremely high,” Slinkard said.
9-year-old girl was a 'warrior', says her mother
Arlene Alvarez, in an undated photo provided by her family.
Arlene's mother described her as a "warrior" and said she was told her daughter was brain dead as a result of her injuries.
"We just had our 4-month-old son," Armando told KHOU.
"She always wanted to be there to change her diapers. She was a mom."
Ramos said at the news conference with Arlene's parents that the girl was in the fourth grade, but described her as an "old soul" taking care of her two younger brothers, who were also inside the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
“He got along with everyone, he loved making TikTok videos, he was as happy as could be,” he said.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner responded to the fatal shooting in a statement on Twitter, saying, "The precious girl was an innocent victim caught in the crossfire of an incident that had nothing to do with her or her family."
“My heart goes out to Arlene's mother, father and siblings following her tragic death this afternoon.
We cannot imagine her immeasurable pain,” the statement read.
A witness who stopped at the drive-through described the scene he witnessed in an interview with KHOU.
"I could hear her talking real low to her dad and her dad was talking to her trying to comfort her," Joe Maldonado told KHOU 11. "The mom was really, she was hysterical, she was basically running circles around the dad and the daughter looking back the sky. It was quite scary to see that."
Houston sees a 17% increase in homicides this year
Earlier this month, Turner announced his plan to combat crime in the nation's fourth-largest city through One Safe Houston, an intersectional community initiative, following a worrying spike in homicides this year.
Homicides are up about 17% in 2021, compared to 2020, according to the Houston Police Department.
7-year-old girl is fatally shot while riding in a vehicle with her mother and sister in Arizona
"Since the beginning of the year, our city has felt anything but safe," Turner said at a news conference announcing the plan.
This was the second recent shooting of a 9-year-old girl in the area.
Last week, 9-year-old Ashanti Grant was shot in an alleged road rage incident while she was watching cartoons in the back seat of the family car, according to her family.
Grant is in critical condition, his family told CNN.
No suspects have been identified in that shooting.
The police continue to investigate.