HARTFORD, Conn. — Family and friends gathered together Thursday night for a prayer vigil held in honor of 22-year-old Jayla Heaven.
Hartford police said Heaven was killed in a shooting at a house party on Shultas Place in Hartford early Monday morning.
“It was a senseless, tragic thing to happen and we’re just asking that whoever knows something come forward because if that was your child, that’s what you would want because she had a whole life ahead of her," Jacqueline Gaston-Thomas, Heaven's cousin, said. “She was a sparkle, she was a light."
Police said Heaven and a man in his 20s, who was also shot, were caught in the crossfire of a fight and were not the intended targets. The man is expected to be OK.
Friends and family members of Heaven lit candles in her honor as they mourned her loss and remembered her.
“Jayla could cook," Gaston-Thomas said. “She did it all. I mean, there was nothing Jayla couldn’t do so right now, somebody cut the life short of somebody who could have been anything she wanted to be.”
They’re hoping someone will speak up about what happened, as the shooter is still on the loose.
“We want to know who the person is and bring him to justice because at the end of the day, it’s my baby sister," Ahsile Fearon said.
“We would just like what anybody would like and that’s justice for her," Gaston-Thomas said.
FOX61 reached out to Hartford police for an update on the case and we're told no one has been taken into custody and no suspect information is available at this time. The investigation is ongoing.
If you know anything about what happened, contact the Hartford Police Tip Line at (860) 722-8477. Callers can remain anonymous.
Elisha Machado is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at emachado@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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