On the evening of August 16, 2020, in the 600 block of South Federal Boulevard in Denver, 30-year-old Jessica Marisela Barraza-Hernandez was sitting in a vehicle with friends around 10 p.m. They had stopped to pick up another person when an altercation nearby escalated and shots were fired indiscriminately. Those in the car ducked for cover, but a stray bullet struck Jessica and the wound proved fatal; she was pronounced dead at the scene.

An employee at Children’s Hospital Colorado and a resident of Commerce City, Jessica is remembered by family as vibrant and protective. The Denver Police Department investigated and determined the fight that led to the gunfire was unrelated to Jessica or her friends. Authorities also said a separate deadly shooting a few blocks away that same night appeared to be unrelated.

No arrests have been announced and the case remains unsolved.