MIAMI, Fla. – The mother of the 7-year-old girl killed during a drive-by shooting Saturday begged for the gunman who killed her daughter to go to police.
“I do pray that God lay something on your heart to just turn yourself in. This should not be happening, we should not be going through this,” Shanlavie Drayton said Thursday during a prayer vigil just outside where her daughter, Alana Washington, was shot in the back of the head as she was running away from a spray of bullets.
"She was trying to get in the door while they were shooting. She fell right there," Drayton said.
The grieving mom now carries her daughter’s image on a T-shirt as she gathered with neighborhood leaders, police, and pastors.
"We are here this afternoon to pray with the family and to make a plea to the community to say if you saw something, say something," Kenneth Kilpatrick of the Brownsville Civic Neighborhood Association said.
Miami-Dade Police Chief Rosanna Cordero-Stutz said: "We want people to come forward and we are asking for a call to action from people in this community."
It was Saturday evening when the drive-by happened at 2900 NW 51st Street.
A one-year-old boy was also shot, along with two adults, Alana’s aunt and uncle. Alana was the only one fatally struck.
Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall of the Miami-Dade School board said: “We’re hurting, our hearts are breaking- our thoughts and prayers are not enough; it just isn’t enough.”
A check given to Drayton from the Greater Miami-Miami Beach Police Foundation will help the family with burial costs. And a growing GoFundme account— at nearly $32,000 — will help cover medical bills for the survivors.
But the emotional pain will be unbearable until the gunman is caught.
“She was a beautiful child. That was my princess,” Drayton said.
There’s now a $55,000 reward for information that can lead to who was responsible for Washington’s death. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.