A 10-year-old was killed and others wounded in a Texas flea market shooting. A 19-year-old suspect is in custody

Melissa Alonso, Elizabeth Wolfe and Christina Maxouris, CNN
·3 min read
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A suspect is in custody in the weekend shooting at a Texas flea market that left a 10-year-old dead and others wounded, police in Pearland said.

David Negrete, 19, turned himself in late Tuesday morning after an arrest warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon was issued, police said, adding Negrete was being held at the Brazoria County Jail. His booking record was not immediately available, and it was not clear if he had an attorney.

Five people were shot Sunday at Cole’s Flea Market, yet another episode amid the seemingly endless toll of America’s mass shooting epidemic and the broader scourge of children caught up in gun violence across the nation.

The flea market encounter “did not appear to be a targeted attack,” Pearland Police Officer Chad Rogers said.

Two 18-year-olds, including a man who was shot in the incident, have been arrested and charged with tampering with physical evidence and making a false statement to police, police said. Investigators were working to determine the involvement of a 16-year-old who was shot.

The 10-year-old boy, a 14-year-old girl and a 37-year-old man were “innocent bystanders in the shooting,” police have said.

Officers in Pearland – about 15 miles south of Houston – responded to Cole’s Flea Market just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday after authorities received calls about a shooting, the Pearland Police Department said Monday in a Facebook post.

Authorities believe two people got into an altercation at the flea market before shots were fired from at least two handguns, Pearland police said. Detectives on Sunday worked to interview witnesses and determine how many rounds were fired, police said.

A $15,000 reward had been issued for information leading to Negrete’s arrest.

Texas on Monday was mourning “the loss of a precious child following the devastating tragedy in Pearland yesterday, and our hearts are with the four other victims in the hospital as they recover from their injuries,” Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, said in a statement.

“The State of Texas is deploying our full support to local law enforcement to ensure the perpetrators of this crime are caught and brought to justice,” he said.

The shooting is another example of the enduring trauma of gun violence in the US, where everyday activities such as attending class, going to the bank or leisurely shopping can be interrupted by bullets. More than 600 mass shootings – with four or more people wounded, excluding the shooter – have unfolded this year across the US, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The sprawling Texas flea market spans more than 40 acres and opens its doors every weekend to anywhere from 12,000 to 15,000 visitors, according to its website. “Typically, on the weekend, (the flea market is) a very, very populated place,” Rogers said.

CNN’s Joe Sutton contributed to this report.

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