Fifteen-year-old Dejana Kiki Leary was killed on July 22, 2018, while sitting in a parked SUV outside her boyfriend’s home in Norfolk, Virginia. A rising eleventh-grader at Maury High School who hoped to become a pediatrician, she was described as joyful and well liked.

Investigators say the shooting resulted from a dispute unrelated to Dejana. The shooter, Deiontrae Bates, reportedly intended to target a man he believed was involved with the mother of his child; that man had taken refuge in the vehicle, and Bates fired into it. Dejana was struck and killed as an innocent bystander.

Bates was arrested and charged in connection with the killing; he later pleaded and received a multi-year prison sentence. Dejana’s family said the punishment did not feel like adequate justice for their loss.

If anyone knew Dejana, witnessed the shooting, or has information that could add to what is known, please share what you remember.