Ja’Miyah Lawrence was 16 when she was killed in a random shooting spree on Detroit’s west side in the early morning of Sunday, August 28, 2022. A high school senior and honor roll student who hoped to attend Michigan State University, she was also a talented dancer and described by her mother, Latoya Foster, as a child who helped others and even assisted with her mother’s nursing school studies.

After a disagreement with her mother the night before, Ja’Miyah left home and was reported missing when she did not return. She was shot and killed around 5:30 a.m. near Margareta and Wyoming avenues. For several days she remained unidentified in the morgue and was initially described only by her clothing and the contents of her purse before her mother identified her.

Authorities later charged 19-year-old Dontae Ramon Smith in connection with a shooting spree that day that killed three people, including Ja’Miyah, and injured another. Ja’Miyah’s family remember her as a bright light who was dearly loved and will be deeply missed.