HOUSTON – A desperate plea is coming from the family of a man murdered outside of a popular Third Ward restaurant, hoping someone comes forward with information about the killer.
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Following an altercation near Leighton’s House of Lamb and Ramen, 34-year-old Jarrick Hoskins was shot and later died at the hospital.
Through the pain and suffering the Hoskins family is experiencing, their primary focus is justice.
“He was one of my heartbeats,” said Hoskins’ Mother, Tameka Moore.
Moore and other family spent the day viewing Hoskins’ body and preparing pictures for his obituary.
“The pain that I feel is in my core. I wouldn’t wish this on no parent,” Moore said.
The beloved father of two was fatally shot near Leighton’s House of Lamb and Ramen early Monday morning.
More than a murder victim, Hoskins’ family wants the public to know he was an athlete.
“When he did his first dunk when he was fifteen, he thought he was just ‘IT,’” Moore said, adding he was also once a scholar at TSU.
Hoskins was also known to be a jokester with a knack for fashion who loved his friends and family.
“He was just a spirited young man that just living life, loving both of his children, daughter Haley. He made sure he was involved in school,” Moore said.
“He was a fashion guru,” said his sister Chaniqua Hoskins. “He loved to get up and put his clothes on and take pictures for everybody to see.”
As Houston police investigate the shooting, a restaurant spokesman from Leighton’s told KPRC 2′s Deven Clarke that he wanted to offer his condolences.
“No other man is responsible, or has the duty to take another man’s life so I do feel horrible for what happened,” said spokesman, Leighton Dickson.
Dickson stressed that neither he nor any of his staff members had anything to do with the senseless killing, yet he still feels compelled to implement changes hoping to prevent future violence.
“We will be hiring police authorities that will be here onsite just to make sure everybody’s safe, and I’m not just doing it for customers, I’m doing it for my staff too,” Dickson said.
Meanwhile, Hoskins’ family is making a heartfelt plea to anyone who knows what happened.
“Say something. It’s just that simple. But people these days don’t do that until they’re wearing these shoes that we’re wearing. And these shoes are heavy. I feel like my feet is in cement. That was my baby,” Moore said.
Anyone with information is asked to call HPD immediately. As for Hoskins, his family tells KPRC 2 that funeral arrangements are being kept private.