On the evening of January 8, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama, 16-year-old Yasmine Wright was riding home with her mother after a shift at the Birmingham Zoo when gunfire erupted. Yasmine, a tenth-grader at Wenonah High School who played saxophone in the band and was about to turn 17, was struck by a stray bullet and later pronounced dead at UAB Hospital. The shooting also killed 49-year-old Ed Franklin Harris.

Police say Harris appeared to be the intended target after he laid down his motorcycle and the shooter or shooters exited a vehicle and opened fire. The car carrying Yasmine and her mother was caught in the crossfire. Investigators have described at least two suspects and a person of interest: a tall, slender Black male seen leaving a black Lexus armed with a rifle; that person was interviewed but no charges have been filed and the shooters remain unidentified.

Yasmine’s family created the annual Watch Me Soar scholarship for a Wenonah High School band senior, and grief counselors were offered at the school. Anyone who knew Yasmine or has information about the shooting is asked to come forward.