On New Year’s Eve in Elkton, Maryland, ten-year-old Aaliyah Boyer was struck in the head by a stray bullet fired into the air during celebrations. She was critically injured, taken to the hospital, and taken off life support on January 3, 2013; her organs were donated. The Cecil County Sheriff’s Office treated her death as a homicide and conducted an extensive investigation that included door-to-door inquiries and forensic analysis of the recovered bullet to try to trace it to a registered firearm.

A community vigil followed as family and friends called for justice and an end to celebratory gunfire. Despite those efforts and forensic work, no arrests have been announced and no suspect has been publicly identified. The random nature of a falling bullet presented major challenges to investigators, and the case remains unsolved.

If anyone was in that Elkton neighborhood on New Year’s Eve or has information that could help identify who fired the shot, please come forward.