NFL star DeAndre Hopkins plans to donate the game check he will earn this weekend to the family of Jazmine Barnes, a 7-year-old girl who died Sunday in a drive-by shooting in Houston.
Hopkins, who plays wide receiver for the Houston Texans, wrote on Twitter that he sees his “own daughter” in Barnes’s face and said his game check would go toward her funeral costs and to help support the effort to bring her killer to justice.
{mosads}”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,” Hopkins tweeted.
The Texans play the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Hopkins’s game check will be worth $29,000, according to The Washington Post.
Authorities in Texas are still searching for the shooter in Barnes’s death. Authorities have said they believe the suspect is a bearded man who was driving a red pickup truck when he shot Barnes.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Thursday that the sheriff’s office “is working hard to bring closure to her family.”
“Will not rest until we find #JusticeForJazmine. Our @HCSOTexas team is working hard to bring closure to her family. Jazmine would soon be celebrating another birthday, instead her funeral is being planned. No words. Thank u @shaunking @pastordeckard & all our community 4 support,” he tweeted.