Quanisha Pitts was 17 and a high school junior from Compton when she was shot and killed on May 26, 2007. That night she had gone to a movie in Lakewood with a 21-year-old man. After a brief stop at his parents’ house in Compton, they were driving back to Quanisha’s home and passed a group of young men who were identified as gang members. A shot then shattered the car’s back windshield and struck Quanisha in the back and neck. She was taken to a nearby hospital but did not survive.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigated and described the shooting as a random act of violence, likely gang-related. No arrests were made immediately after the incident, and in the years following there were no significant updates on arrests or suspects. Quanisha’s death is remembered by the community as a loss of a promising young woman; the motive beyond the apparent gang connection and the identity of the shooter remain unresolved.

If anyone knew Quanisha, witnessed the shooting, or has information that could help the investigation, please come forward to the Sheriff’s Department.