The tragic shooting on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation in Colorado that resulted in the death of a 7-year-old boy has left the community in shock. According to court documents, the boy, Zamias Lang, was lying next to his father, Zackieus Lang, in bed when he was hit by gunfire. Zackieus Lang reported hearing the shots just after midnight, with 24 bullet holes found in their home. Jeremiah Hight has been charged in connection with the shooting, but the FBI has not provided a motive for the attack.
Authorities were able to locate Hight on the Navajo Nation reservation in Utah after a search that lasted several days. He was taken into custody by members of the Navajo Police Department’s dog team and the Bureau of Indian Affairs drug enforcement division. Investigators recovered 24 bullet casings from an assault-style rifle at the scene of the shooting, near where surveillance video captured a person firing shots. Zamias Lang was found struggling in pain after being hit during the incident.
Hight’s arrest came after the FBI announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to his capture and conviction in the fatal shooting. He appeared in federal court in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he did not contest that he was the suspect in Zamias Lang’s death. Hight will be extradited to Colorado to face charges of second-degree murder, assault with a dangerous weapon in Indian Country, and using a firearm during a violent crime. His lawyer, Luke Stephen Mulligan, did not provide a comment on the case.
The small town of Towaoc, where the shooting occurred, is about 110 miles east of where Hight was eventually found on the Navajo Nation reservation. The community is reeling from the loss of Zamias Lang, a young boy who was tragically caught in the crossfire of violence. The motive behind the shooting remains unclear, but the impact on the Lang family and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation is profound. Authorities are working to provide support to the family and seek justice for the senseless act of violence that took the life of a child.
