Arlene Lynette Alvarez was 9 years old when she was killed in a case of mistaken identity on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2022. That evening the Alvarez family was driving to get dinner in the Gulfgate area of southeast Houston; Arlene was in the backseat when a man who had just been robbed at a nearby Chase Bank ATM, Tony Earls Jr., got out of his car and opened fire. A bullet struck Arlene in the head. She was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital, placed on life support, and pronounced dead on February 15, 2022.

The medical examiner ruled cause of death a gunshot wound to the head and manner of death homicide. Initial charges of aggravated assault were brought against Earls, and a July 2022 grand jury declined to indict. A special prosecutor later re-examined the case; new analysis including an FBI firearms expert led to a 2024 grand jury indictment for murder. The armed robber who triggered the events has never been identified.

Did anyone in the Gulfgate area see anything that night or know more about the person who fled from the ATM?