In the early morning hours of June 17, 2020, 19-year-old Kiana Brown of New Haven, Connecticut, was killed when a bullet entered a Valley Street home where she was sleeping on a couch. The shot, believed to have come from a drive-by shooting around 4 a.m., passed through the house, struck a table and then hit Kiana; her death was ruled a homicide. Authorities have said she was not the intended target.

Kiana was remembered by family and the community as vibrant and joyful. A 2018 graduate of Hillhouse High School, she played on the basketball team that won the Class L state championship in 2019 and had recently been recognized as Most Valuable Team Player at Cracker Barrel, where she worked. Her family continues to speak about the void left by her loss, and community members have held gatherings to remember her and protest gun violence.

Police and city officials have appealed for information that could lead to an arrest; a $25,000 reward for information leading to arrest and conviction was announced in July 2022. If anyone has information about what happened that night, please come forward.