On the afternoon of Sunday, August 2, 2026, 14-year-old Makayla Pennywell was fatally shot at her family home on LeGardy Street in Shreveport, Louisiana. Makayla, a student at Donnie Bickham Middle School described by her grandmother as sweet, calm, and caring, was found on a couch with a gunshot wound to the head. She had been looking forward to starting ninth grade.

Police say the shooter was Makayla’s 13-year-old stepbrother. After an earlier argument, he is alleged to have taken a handgun that belonged to Makayla’s mother from a bag where it was stored out of sight and fired, striking Makayla. Several other people, including a 5-year-old child, were in the home at the time. The 13-year-old was arrested and charged with second-degree murder; a judge found probable cause at a Caddo Parish Juvenile Court custody hearing on August 5 and ordered him held at the juvenile detention center pending further hearings. The mother will not face charges, authorities say, because the firearm was not considered easily accessible.

Does anyone who knew Makayla or was in that neighborhood on August 2 have information that could help clarify what happened that afternoon?