RICHMOND, Va. -- One Richmond family is making a desperate plea to the public after they lost their 15-year-old daughter in a shooting on the city's Northside on Monday night.
Richmond Police said Tynashia Humphrey was shot on the outskirts of Gilpin Court at North First and Federal Street just before 7:30 p.m. on Monday.
Crime Insider sources told CBS 6 that Tynashia was killed in what appeared to be a drive-by shooting while she was walking to the store.
At a vigil on Tuesday night, the family called on the community to come forward with information about the shooting that took the teenager's life. They are begging for people to do the right thing so they can find closure amid the heartbreak.
Tynashia, a student at Armstrong High School, was described as an honor roll student who loved music and drawing.
"She had a future. A bright future. And it was cut by evil," Pastor Valerie Coley said.
Tynashia's uncle Ricky Johnson called on the community to put down the guns to stop the violence, reminding people that his niece was just going to the store and this tragedy should have never happened.
"Constantly, we have conversations about crime and we look to city leaders for answers but the answers lie within us," Johnson said.
He called on the community to respect themselves and also respect where they live, work and play.
Tynashia's grandmother, Karen R. Cheatham, spoke about how the violence must stop as families are losing their babies, saying she is in disbelief that she has had two young ones die from gun violence.
"Why does this have to continue to go on? There are too many babies being taken," Cheatham said.
Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith has asked the public to come forward with any information that could help in the investigation.
"I'm going to plead to the community right now that if you know something right now, you need to call us and let us know about this shooting, about the groups that could've been shooting at each other and took this child's life right here in the middle of the street. This is an outrage. There is no other way to describe this, but it is an outrage that the entire community needs to be up in arms about," Smith said.
The family said they plan to have a week of action that they are currently sorting out the details for. Despite the ongoing planning, they intend to continue to call on whoever was involved in the shooting to come forward.
Richmond Public Schools established the "Honoring the Memory Fund" this year that aims to support families of RPS students who pass with funeral expenses, mental health support, missed days of work, food and bills.
You can donate to the fund by clicking here and selecting "Honoring the Memory Fund" in the drop-down menu.
