Arlene Alvarez was reportedly killed on Valentine’s Day by a robbery victim who claimed he was shooting at the man who robbed him.
KPRC reported that Arlene Alvarez’s funeral would occur at Grace Church Houston. While visitation is public, her interment will be private.
Age
She was 9 years old.
Incident Details
According to the Houston Chronicle, Alvarez and her family were on their way to eat dinner when Tony Earls, 41, shot at her father’s truck. Arlene Alvarez was wearing headphones and may not have heard her father’s warning to duck when she was fatally shot.
Earls allegedly told police that he was just robbed, and he believed the suspect was in Alavarez’s truck. Police said Earls and his wife were robbed at a drive-thru ATM at Chase bank, the Chronicle reported.
After the robbery, Earls reportedly got out of the passenger seat of his car and fired four shots at the suspect. According to KHOU, he then fired two shots at Alvarez’s truck, striking Alvarez once.
Earls and his wife then drove home, where they called 911 to report the robbery.
Earls was charged with aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury. He is currently free on a $100,000 bond.
Funeral
Many people from the community are expected to gather at Grace Church today to honour Arlene.
There will be a public visitation beginning at 10 a.m., and the funeral service will follow at 1 p.m.
Grace Church is located at 14505 Gulf Freeway.
Investigation
Arlene’s accused killer has been identified as Tony Earls. He claims he was robbed at an ATM moments before he fired shots at the Alvarez family’s truck, thinking the robber got into their car.
Earls was arrested shortly after the shooting and charged with aggravated assault but posted his $100,000 bond and is out of custody. The Alvarez family believes he should still be in jail.
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“That’s not fair that the guy’s out there, like, without nothing. That’s not fair. They need to be in jail. No bond,” Arlene’s mother, Gwen Alvarez, said. “They need to suffer what we suffer because we don’t sleep. We go through the pain and they don’t.”
The robber has still not been found, and there is a huge push to find that person. The suspect’s surveillance video has been released, but no arrests have been made.
The Alvarez family says Earls was not justified in firing the shots that killed Arlene.
“We know the laws and we know when to shoot. You shoot once, that’s it,” Arlene’s father, Armando Alvarez, said. “If the person is not in front of you, it’s not a threat anymore, so it’s not in self-defence.”
