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Washington, who suffered a bullet wound to the left arm in the shooting, said at Thursday's news conference that she believed the attack was a hate crime.

But on Sunday, the Harris County Sheriff Office announced that \"the Jazmine Barnes Homicide investigation has taken a new direction.\"

\"At this time, investigators do not believe Jazmine's family was the intended target of the shooting, and that they were possibly shot as a result of mistaken identity,\" according to a statement from the sheriff's office.

\"PHOTO:
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP
PHOTO: Donna Thomas holds a flyer about the shooting suspect as she attends a community rally for seven-year-old Jazmine Barnes in Houston, Jan. 5, 2019.
>

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, attended Gonzalez's news conference Sunday and applauded the community, particularly local African-American residents, for calling in tips and refraining from vigilantism.

\"Throughout the entire week, they listened to the process of law and order and they supported the sheriff and all the law enforcement in their efforts,\" Lee said. \"That should be the story going from this county and this city that Jazmin's life was so important that no one tried to take the law in their own hands.\"

The high-profile shooting case prompted an outpouring of support for Jazmine's loved ones from people across the nation, including celebrities like former NBA great Shaquille O'Neal, Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and actresses Gabrielle Union and Olivia Wilde.

\"PHOTO:
Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP
PHOTO: LaPorsha Washington, center, the mother of seven-year-old daughter Jazmine Barnes, who was killed on Sunday, speaks to the crowd during a community rally in Houston, Jan. 5, 2019.
>

\"I am grateful to our dedicated investigators, the partner law enforcement agencies that provided vital assistance, and tipsters from across the nation who pulled together to support our work to get justice for Jazmine,\" Gonzalez said in a statement. \"Our work is not finished, but I believe the people of Harris County can take comfort in knowing we have made great progress.\"

\"PHOTO:
Harris County Sheriffs Office
PHOTO: Jazmine Barnes, 7, was shot and killed while sitting in a car in Harris County, Texas, on Dec. 30, 2018.
>

Merritt explained the discrepancy in the police sketch and suspects arrested, saying, \"Larry Woodruffe doesn’t fit the description offered by the 4 different witness statements or composite sketch. Accordingly, this tip was difficult to believe. Assuming the confession elicited is reliable -- it is possible the previously identified suspect seen fleeing by several independent witnesses was a [bystander] attempting to escape the shooting.\"

View this post on Instagram

?I’ll go ahead and state the obvious. 24 y/o Larry Woodruffe doesn’t fit the description offered by the 4 different witness statements or composite sketch. Accordingly, this tip was difficult to believe. Assuming the confession elicited is reliable— it is possible the previously identified suspect seen fleeing by several independent witnesses was a bystanader attempting to escape the shooting. To observers, however, he appeared to be the shooter himself. ?More information will have to be drawn out before there is a conviction. Nonetheless, the community is collectively responsible for obtaining evidence that has led to a credible arrest and we are closer to answers. That much is laudable.

A post shared by S. Lee Merritt, Esquire (@leemerrittesq) on Jan 5, 2019 at 11:48pm PST

Washington told KTRK that investigators confirmed that Alxis' description of the man in the red truck \"wasn't a figment of her imagination.\"

\"When they looked at the cameras they saw a red pickup truck and the gentleman in it and it was a white guy, but he crossed over from my right side to the left side and got on the freeway,\" Washington said.

\"At the end of the day, like I say, anything helps and I'm just glad for the support we've had ...,\" Washington said.

Jazmine's funeral is scheduled to be held at noon on Tuesday at the Community of Faith Church in Houston, followed by a balloon release in honor of the girl. DeAndre Hopkins has pledged to donate his $29,000 game check from Saturday's Texans playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts to pay for Jazmine's funeral.

Merritt told ABC News on Sunday that Jazmine's parents want to use some of the money that's poured in from people across the nation wanting to help the family to establish the Jazmine Barnes Foundation to provide scholarships to future school teachers, which the girl aspired to be.

\"The parents of Jazmine have constantly emphasized that they don't want their daughter to die in vain, that they want her legacy to live on,\" Merritt said.

ABC News' Gina Sunseri and Alexandra Faul contributed to this report.

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