Eleven-year-old Amethyst Sistine Ame Silva was killed on January 1, 2023, after being struck by a stray bullet while outside her family’s apartment at the Allure Apartments on Middlecoff Road in Corpus Christi, Texas. She collapsed after exclaiming ouch and was pronounced dead at the hospital shortly afterward.

Corpus Christi Police arrested two men, 29-year-old Deonis Poindexter and 43-year-old Jacob Leal, charging each with deadly conduct for discharging firearms in a celebratory manner near the apartment complex. Both charges are third-degree felonies carrying potential two- to ten-year prison terms. The fatal bullet was never recovered, and authorities say that has prevented pursuing more serious charges because the projectile could not be conclusively linked to the suspects’ firearms.

The Silva family has expressed deep frustration with the limits of the charges and raised concerns about delays and difficulty reaching 911; they have engaged legal counsel to examine emergency response issues. The community has held vigils and memorials, and Amethyst’s parents, Robert Silva and Melinda Cruz, remember her as a bright, affectionate child. If anyone was at the Allure Apartments that night or has information about celebratory gunfire in the area, please come forward.