New York Girl, 12, Dies 26 Hours After Being Shot In The Head By A Stray Bullet While Eating Dinner At Her Home

A New York girl, Dejah Joyner, 12, tragically dies 26 hours after she was shot in the head by a stray bullet while eating dinner with her parents in her Long Island home, according to the Daily Mail. At approximately 5 p.m. on Friday, it was reported by witnesses that an “older model dark green or black Nissan” was seen fleeing from the scene just before shots were fired at the two-story home on Dartmouth St.

A single bullet pierced through the window, striking the young girl in the head and lodging into her brain. She was later rushed to Winthrop University Hospital where she remained in critical condition until she succumbed to her injuries on Saturday at 7 p.m.

12-year-old Dejah Joyner dies after being struck by a stray bullet that flew into her home https://t.co/rvg8KTYd51 pic.twitter.com/bamiEfCIrC

— Global Grind (@GlobalGrind) October 19, 2015

Long Island police officials have not made any arrests, but are working diligently to locate the suspect. They have received some footage of the shooting by a neighbor Alex Cruz, 29, who said, “It’s very unfortunate that she got shot. Authorities should have done something before this happened, because this has been going on for months now.” Apparently, the home has been shot at “four or five times in the last few months. The previous one was about five weeks ago, and before that it was one after another, just days in between.”

According to NY Daily News, Joyner was not the intended target. The gunman had aim at an unidentified man who had walked into the home just before the deadly shooting occurred. “Dejah Joyner’s life was violently cut short before she even had a chance to live it – this is a heartbreaking tragedy and we will do everything in our power to make sure that the gunman is brought to justice,” said District Attorney Madeline Singas. Another neighbor James Greene, 86, told reporters that the incident was exceedingly “sad, and it’s not the first time this happened here. She was a sweet little girl. She liked to do what 12-year-olds like to do. She liked to dance. She was in the scouts. She liked going to church.”

NOW: standing behind #dejahjoyner family. 12 yr old shot & killed. Church community showing their support pic.twitter.com/TsYWt4CBCZ

— Kemberly Richardson (@kemrichardson7) October 18, 2015

The Hempstead Village Mayor, Wayne Hall, has since expressed that he wants to toughen the gun laws and says that he plans to have an “Evening of Outrage” rally. During a prayer service for Joyner, which was held at the Antioch Baptist Church, he said: “I’m tired of saying that we have to have more federal gun laws to stop the flow of guns. We have to be the police in our community, because we know who are doing the bad stuff in our community.”

“My heart is broken, my heart goes out to the family. I’m really sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

“I’m tired of saying that we have to have more federal gun laws to stop the flow of guns. We have to be the police in our community, because we know who are doing the bad stuff in our community,” Hall added. “They always quote the Second Amendment rights. This Second Amendment was written in 1791 when you needed to have a gun. You had all the outlaws. But we don’t need the guns in the urban communities.”

Rev. Phillip Elliot also spoke, saying “We want the world to see that this is the family that has been touched, that has been treated unfairly by criminals. It’s heinous. It’s not right. And we stand today to stand against it,” Let her feel our love. I remember her smile. That’s who she was, how you see her in her pictures. Everybody loved her. She was a jewel. Nobody believes that this happened to her.”

“Let this not be a tragedy just gone in the wind,” Brown said. “I want to say also to the community, we want that person to come forward, and want you to bring that person forward. We are not going to lighten up on this. This is going to go on until we find out who did this. You know who you are. So you need to speak up.”

“This is a day that we never want to see again, but unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened, that a young person’s life has been taken.”

An award of $75,000 is offered for more information in the shooting death of 12-year-old Dejah Joyner. Long Island police officials asks those with information to “call (800) 244-TIPS (8477) or the Nassau County homicide squad at (516) 573-7788.”

[Image via YouTube screen capture]