Kayla Mendenhall was a 12-year-old sixth grader at Leeds Middle School, known for her bright smile and for playing trombone in the school band. In late April 2017, at a family gathering in Leeds, Alabama, Kayla was wrestling with an adult family member when a gun worn by that relative discharged. A single bullet struck her in the upper leg; she was taken to a nearby hospital but the wound proved fatal.

The Leeds Police Department opened an investigation and initially treated the shooting as accidental while working to establish the precise sequence of events. No arrests were announced in the days after the shooting, and the identity of the family member involved was not publicly released. There have been no public announcements about the investigation’s outcome or any charges.

If anyone attended that gathering or has information about what happened that day, please share what you know.