On the evening of December 12, 2016, 15-year-old Melanie Johnson was killed when a bullet fired through a kitchen window struck her while she was inside her family’s home near 35th Street and Silver Spring in Milwaukee. Laughter was coming from the house as Melanie, her mother and siblings were together; two men outside, motivated by a grudge against Melanie’s brother over a girl, walked by and fired into the kitchen. Family members say Melanie shielded her 9-month-old nephew as she was hit. It was later learned she was nine weeks pregnant.

Milwaukee police concluded the shooting was not random and that Melanie was not the intended target. Investigators identified 19-year-old Alex Dixon and Martaouse Holloway as the assailants; Dixon was arrested and Holloway was sought. A jury later found Martaouse Holloway guilty of 2nd-degree reckless homicide and being a felon in possession of a firearm; he received a combined 31-year sentence. Melanie’s family remember her as a good kid who loved to read and babysit and say there can be no real closure.

If anyone knew Melanie or has information about events that night, please share what can help her memory and her family.