November 3. 2020

16-year-old girl, Mareja Pratt, was shot and killed in Houston, Texas over a social networking dispute that raged for over a month. Mareja was being bullied online by a family member. She was shot and killed in the presence of her cousin Dekambrie Pratt, and friend Anthony Thornabar, while on the way to confront the family member who was bullying her online.

A car drove up to them as they walked on the street. The car contained a man and three women. The man stepped out of the vehicle, then suddenly opened fire. All three sisters suffered gunshot woods, none life-threatening, but Mareja, who was clearly the main target, succumb to her deadly injuries. 24-year-old Kenny Garrett is wanted in connection with the shooting.

Mareja Pratt

Mareja was being bullied by a woman on Instagram. Mareja's cousin stated to the press after her murder, "It was just jealousy. You killed her over jealousy. She kept picking on [Mareja] on Instagram, sending people pictures saying she was a prostitute. Messing with her … messing with her to the point my cousin used to cry about it."

Be careful of jealous people. Some are not harmful. However, some are obsessive and filled with resentment and rage, due to feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. This can spell trouble for innocent people they target.

Mareja Pratt

When they reach the point they are playing around with or altering people's pictures out of jealousy, making up defamatory stories and launching personal attacks on social networking in an effort to turn the public against an innocent individual, it is a warning sign that violence could follow.

Because at the end of the day, no rational or decent person goes that far on social networking, regarding the aforementioned jealous behavior. As this murder case illustrates, it is a bad sign regarding what they are capable of when they're off social networking.

Kevin Garrett

Society is becoming more and more depraved. To target a 16-year-old girl, publicly labeling her a prostitute, then doing a drive-by shooting to murder her, is an alarming sign of how far things have fallen. This depravity and savagery needs to stop.

It's alarming how seriously some take social networking. It is supposed to be fun and a positive source of connecting with others. However, some have turned it into a jealousy driven, hate filled, malicious and dangerous tool to attack, humiliate and degrade others. 

STORY SOURCE

Search underway for man charged with murdering teen girl in southwest Houston during fight

Published: 10:37 AM CST November 2, 2020 - HOUSTON — Houston police on Monday released a photo of the man wanted in a triple shooting that killed a teenage girl last month on the southwest side. The shooting happened during an alleged “social media beef” that resulted in a fight between cousins.

Editor's note: the video attached to this story is from Oct. 27 and reports on the teenage victim The shooting, which also wounded a man and woman, happened at 10819 Sharpview Drive at about 2:40 p.m. on October 26, according to the Houston Police Department.

Kenny Charles Garrett, 24, is charged with murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the 263rd State District Court. As of Monday morning he was not yet in custody, but police released a photo of him from a previous arrest in 2019...

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Garrett is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

https://www.khou.com