Man confesses to road rage killing of 4-year old

A man detained in the road rage killing of a 4-year-old girl this week in New Mexico has confessed to the shooting, authorities said.

Tony Torrez, 32, was taken into custody Wednesday, a day after the shooting on Interstate 40 in Albuquerque.

At the time of his detention, officers described him as a person of interest, and declined to identify him pending further investigations. Authorities named him early Thursday.

"He confessed to the murder of little Lilly Garcia," police Chief Gorden Eden said.

Authorities said they got a break in the case after they received an anonymous call from someone who had information on the suspect.

What started the shooting?

The incident started Tuesday afternoon when two vehicles cut each other, according to Officer Simon Drobik, a police spokesman.

One of the drivers pulled up to the vehicle carrying the girl and opened fire, Drobik said, citing the victim's father.

The father had just picked up Lilly and her 7-year-old brother from school. The children sat in the back seat, but their mother wasn't in the car, Eden said.

The gunman is believed to have been the only occupant in his vehicle.

'Multiple shots'

Before the arrest, authorities expressed shock at the girl's killing.

"There were two children in this truck that this animal decided to open fire on just because he happened to get cut off on the freeway," said Tanner Tixier, another police spokesman.

Investigators were still trying to determine the number of shots fired.

"The information that we received from the father was that he heard multiple shots," the police chief said.

The father pulled over after the shooting and gave Lilly first aid.

"To have your child in your hands in such circumstances is going to live with the father for the rest of his life," Eden said.

Torrez is being held on a $650,000 bond.