Kayla Lynn Walker was 16 when she was killed by gunfire inside her father’s home in the 14500 block of Freeland Street on Detroit’s west side during the early morning of January 6, 2023. The shooting happened at about 12:30 a.m.; five siblings, ages 7 to 16, were inside the house and no adults were present because their father was at work. A white SUV was reported as connected to the gunman or gunmen, and bullets tore through the house, damaging windows and the front door.

Kayla’s 11-year-old half-sister was wounded and initially hospitalized in serious condition. Detroit Police Chief James White said investigators believed Kayla may have been the intended target and were pursuing surveillance footage, interviewing neighbors and probing a possible connection to a school confrontation before the holiday break, though Kayla’s mother said Kayla hadn’t been attending classes in person for months after an earlier altercation.

Kayla was a junior at Mumford High School, involved with the Sunshine usher board and youth choir at New Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church, and worked after school at McDonald’s and Bucharest. Does anyone who knew Kayla or saw activity near Freeland Street around January 6 have information to share with Detroit police?