On the evening of July 12, 2017, 21-year-old Chynna Battle was at a courtyard barbecue in the Stuyvesant Gardens Houses on Gates Avenue in Brooklyn when two men entered and opened fire. About 20 people were present. Chynna was struck in the head and killed; another woman, 29-year-old Shaqwanda Staley, was shot in the back and also died. Both victims were mothers to young daughters. Investigators concluded neither woman was the intended target and that the shooters had come seeking retaliation for a prior incident.

Police identified two suspects, Anthony Alexander and Nazir Stinky Saunders, after witnesses heard the nickname Stinky at the scene. Authorities say Saunders fired a .45 caliber handgun six times and Alexander fired a .380 caliber handgun twice. Both men fled the state and were later apprehended in South Carolina.

Does anyone have information about Chynna’s life in the neighborhood or memories from that night that could help readers better understand her and the community she belonged to?