Three men have been arrested in connection to a drive-by shooting that killed a 9-year-old Ohio girl on Monday.
Demario Williams, 22; Qasseem Dixon, 25; and Ryan Brown, 27, were nabbed in connection to the death of Da’Myiah Barton-Pickens, 9, of Silverton, near Cincinnati.
The three men allegedly fired approximately 30 rounds into Barton-Pickens’ Plainfield Road home, which was left riddled with bullet holes, around 11:30 p.m. Monday, where she, an adult and another girl were inside, according to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
Police believe Dixon and Brown drove to the home and opened fire to possibly rob the home in retaliation against another man over drug issues, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey said.
Dixon was the first to be arrested on Thursday on an aggravated murder charge and having weapons under disability. Dixon, who has prior convictions, is currently being held on a $2.5 million bond.
Brown turned himself in Thursday and was charged with aggravated murder.
Williams was later arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and also has pending traffic charges. Police accused him of trying to help Dixon and Brown cover up the murder. He and Dixon were located together via drone technology.
Both were nabbed after a short pursuit, which injured another driver, according to WLWT. Two handguns were recovered from the vehicle, McGuffey said.
She called the men “cowards” at a press conference on Thursday.
“All three of these individuals were involved in a drive-by shooting that resulted in 30 rounds being fired into someone’s residence,” she said. “It is absolutely unacceptable, we will not stand for this.
“We believe the motive was retaliation, [but] we don’t know exactly what that entails, but we will say that regardless of what the motive was, it is absolutely not acceptable to act in this way, no matter what has happened and no matter how much someone wants to retaliate. Don’t go out and shoot a 9-year-old innocent girl.”
“It’s beyond ridiculous that children are being shot and gunned down because people, these men, can’t resolve their differences,” McGuffey said.
A neighbor described waking up to loud noises on Monday night and instantly knowing it was gunshots.
“Those aren’t fireworks. That has to be gunfire,” witness Chris Pittman told WLWT, adding that the noise was “very surprising” as it was “not something we would expect to hear on the street or see in this neighborhood.”
“We’ve lived here for eight years. It’s a quiet, friendly neighborhood. We walk up and down the street all the time.”
Barton-Pickens’ grandmother reportedly lived in the rental home and she and er sister often visited, according to the station.
