Yaneliz Munguia, 10 year old girl killed by stray bullet celebrating New Year’s Day in Miami-Dade, Florida. No arrests as family struggles to come to terms with child’s death.
Define tragedy? A 10 year old Florida girl has died after she was struck by a stray bullet amid New Year’s Day celebrations in northwest Miami-Dade early Wednesday.
Yaneliz Munguia was celebrating with family members outside their home in the 2100 block of Northwest 27th Avenue in Allapattah when she suddenly collapsed around 12:04 a.m., Miami-Dade Police officials said.
Her concerned parents hailing from Nicaragua went to the girl only to find that she had a wound to the back of her head.
Victim had just turned 10 a week ago before being struck by stray bullet
They placed her in a car and started searching for a hospital while calling for emergency services, officials said.
Hialeah Fire Rescue responded to the area of Palm Avenue and West 3rd Street where they found Munguia and rushed her to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where she was pronounced dead, NBC6 reported.
Munguia had just turned 10 days earlier on Dec. 26.
Police believe Munguia was struck by a stray bullet fired into the air amid New Years revelries by an unknown person and from an unknown location.
‘We speak time and time again every New Year’s about the fact that what goes up must come down and this is a prime example of the dangers of shooting a firearm indiscriminately into the air,’ Det. Andre Martin with Miami-Dade police said speaking to the press.
‘We have a 10-year-old girl who lost her life at the beginning of the year, we have two parents, a mother and a father, who are now planning a funeral for their daughter to start their year off.’
Justice for Yaneliz Munguia
Homicide Bureau detectives are investigating the incident, and Martin said he hopes the person who fired the weapon comes forward.
‘It can’t be accepted,’ Martin said. ‘If you were the person who was firing the weapon into the air, we need you to do the right thing. Accidents happen, this may not have been on purpose, we need you to come forward and speak to our detectives so this family can have closure.’
The family is struggling to explain to her 7-year-old brother that Yanelis is no longer alive. The girl’s family is advocating for stricter gun laws to prevent this tragedy from happening to another family.
‘Shooting a gun into the sky has consequences. Who paid? A little girl. What did the girl do? Nothing. What fault did she have? But that’s the way things are,’ the girl’s family said.
Police are asking anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
A GoFundMe was established to help cover Munguia’s funeral expenses.
