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Feds seek info on man accused of killing boy in Ute Mountain Ute Reservation
Manuel Heart addresses the fatal shooting of a child in Towaoc, Colorado. The FBI is offering up to a $10,000 reward leading to the arrest and conviction of Jeremiah Hight, who is accused of killing the child on Dec. 11.
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The FBI has come forward with a $10,000 reward in its attempt to track down a man accused of shooting and killing a 7-year-old boy in Towaoc, Colorado, earlier this month.
Jeremiah Hight, 23, a member of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, is charged with an open count of murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm during and in relation to crimes of violence after allegedly shooting at a home on the reservation on Dec. 11, killing the child, the FBI said in a Tuesday news release.
The boy who died was identified as Zamias Lang, Montezuma County coroner George Deavers told The Associated Press.
The FBI investigates serious crimes on the reservation in the Four Corners region, where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet.
Hight is 6 feet tall and weighs 400 pounds. He has brown hair and eyes and tattoos on his right leg, both arms, shoulders and neck.
Hight also has a pierced left ear and scar on his chest. Hight, who has ties to Monument Valley, “might be armed and has proved he can be dangerous,” the FBI said.
Authorities have not released any details about what led to the shooting, and Hight’s arrest warrant was sealed, according to The Associated Press. The FBI’s wanted poster for Hight said the shooting was “targeted at a residence.” It is unclear if anyone else was injured during the incident.
Anyone with information can call the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or their local FBI office or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
Lang was described as “bright and loving” on a GoFundMe page set up to cover funeral and other expenses.
During a video message after the shooting, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Chairman Manuel Heart said the boy had “a full life ahead of him.”
The incident was “senseless” and “uncalled for,” Heart said.
“What the family needs at this time is prayers,” he said.
In response to the shooting, Heart called for the tribal council to adopt multiple resolutions, including one that would ban shooting in either of the reservation’s two communities Towaoc and White Mesa. Another proposed resolution would ask the federal government to hire more officers in the area.
“We need a safe community and you can’t have a safe community without law enforcement,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
