It would have been Ayana McAllister’s 19th birthday on Saturday, but her life was snatched away three months ago.
“Pop pop pop,” N'Daja McAllister remembered the sound of gunshots.
It was hard to relive the moments her sister was killed.
“Once the gunshots stopped we all got up and Yana didn't get up,” N'Daja McAllister said. “She was on the ground like 'Daja, I got shot. I got shot.'
Ayana McAllister was an innocent bystander who was caught in the middle of a barrage of bullets at an apartment complex off of Benning Road in Northeast D.C.
“We don't know who did it. We have no leads. No idea,” N'Daja McAllister said.
The victim’s family held a block party with music, treats, and resources.
Police handed out fliers and asked for the community’s help finding McAllister’s killer.
She was college student who was home for spring break.
“It's not hard to forgive the person. It is hard that my daughter is not here. But I forgive whoever killed my daughter because me holding a grudge or me being angry doesn't bring my daughter back,” Tyreese McAllister said. “There is a lot we'll miss. I mean when you take somebody's life at 18, there is just so much you won't get to see.”
The family says Ayana’s name will live on through a scholarship fund and hopefully more events.
"Ayana was -- believed in education. We want to help children have hope-- to not be in an area where they have to pick up guns and commit crimes,” Tyreese McAllister said.
