A Native American man has been arrested for the fatal shooting of a seven-year-old boy on a Colorado reservation.
Jeremiah Hight, 23, of the Ute Mountain Tribe, was taken into custody on Christmas Eve in connection with the December 11 shooting death of Zamias Lang at his Ute Mountain Reservation home, the Independent reports.Â
Tribal Chairman Manuel Heart called the shooting ‘senseless’ in a video message following the early-morning shooting, as he announced Lang’s passing.
‘I’d like to make a special announcement today with a sad heart and sad mind of the event that happened last night, the loss of a child who was innocent, who left early to go back home to our Creator,’ he said in the message posted to Facebook.
‘The event that happened last night was senseless. An adult made a decision to do something to harm another person. This person was a child.
‘We ask our tribal members, family members not to retaliate as has been mentioned by some people,’ Heart added.Â
‘It may be somebody might have said that I’m going to go out and do this, I ask you to hold on. Let us go through the process that we have in place through our justice system.
‘We do need to support the family, the father, the mother, the grandparents, all the relatives far and near and get them through this, especially this time of year when it’s the holidays.’
Jeremiah Hight, 23, of the Ute Mountain Tribe, was taken into custody on Christmas Eve in connection with the December 11 shooting death of Zamias Lang at his Ute Mountain Reservation home
Lang was remembered in an online fundraiser as ‘a bright and loving seven year old’
An online fundraiser was set up in the aftermath to help Lang’s family, which garnered more than $26,000.
‘Our community was shaken to its core when Zamias Lang, a bright and loving seven year old was taken from us far too soon,’ it said.
‘He fell victim to senseless gun violence, leaving behind family, friends and a community who loved him dearly.’
‘Rest in peace, Zamias. Your life mattered, and your memory will never be forgotten.’Â
A motive for the shooting remains unclear, and Hight’s arrest warrant was sealed.
But police had been searching for Hight in the Oljato area since December 21, with a $10,000 reward offered for any information leading to his arrest.
Hight is now in federal custody. He was arrested without incident.
