Two days after 10-year-old Summer Bell Brown was shot and killed while sitting in her family’s car in their driveway, Phoenix police have made an arrest in the case.
Summer was killed Wednesday evening in an apparent road rage incident, Phoenix police said at a press briefing Wednesday.
At around 5:45 p.m., Summer’s father, Dharquintium Brown, was driving his family home when he noticed a white pickup truck driving closely behind them. As he pulled into his home’s driveway, the driver of the white pickup truck stopped behind the family’s car and allegedly fired several shots. The truck then fled the scene.
Summer and her father were both struck. They were taken to the hospital, where Summer succumbed to her injuries. Dharquintium Brown was in critical condition but survived.
“She died in front of me,” Dharquintium Brown later told reporters, according to ABC News. “[I] watched her eyes roll in the back of her head. And I pray nobody has to experience that.”
After receiving critical tips, Phoenix police arrested Joshua Gonzalez, 20, on charges of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault, Chief Jeri Williams announced at a press conference Friday.
Gonzalez’s vehicle was found parked outside his home 5 miles from Summer’s home. New tires and wheels had been added in an attempt to modify its appearance, police said.
During a search of his home, investigators found a handgun that was later linked through forensic evidence to the shooting.
Williams commended the community for “stepping up” and working together to help the case.
“This tragedy came down to critical information and tips in solving this case. The community involvement and the compassion truly assisted in bringing justice for Summer and her family,” Williams said.
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Summer was in the car with her father, mother and sister when she was shot. Her mother and sister were not injured.
Police say her father angered Gonzalez when he appeared to have cut him off in traffic.
Following her death, Summer’s family spoke out about their daughter.
“This is heartbreaking… that I lost my baby like this,” Taniesha Brown told reporters Thursday, according to ABC News. “She was just a baby.”
“She was daddy’s little girl,” Dharquintium Brown said of his daughter, ABC News reports. “She would wake me up every day with a kiss on my cheek.”
“There was no reason for her to be taken like this. I wish it was me instead of my baby,” Taniesha Brown said. “I looked at him dead in the face, he had this deranged look,” she said, calling him a “coward.”
“This nightmare’s going to be playing in my head every day,” she said. I just really hope she’s at peace.”
As of Monday, a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for Summer’s memorial has raised more than $21,000. Its goal was $5,000.
“Summer was a beautiful young girl full of life, highly intelligent, funny, and always busy with her sister Autumn,” the GoFundMe’s organizer writes. “Summer will be greatly missed by countless family and friends.”
Attorney information for Gonzalez was not available Monday.
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