Laying flowers and wearing “Justice for Meli” t-shirts, family and friends of Melissa Gonzalez gathered on Wednesday on the Miami-Dade roadway where she was killed by a stray bullet four years ago.
“Here we are again January 3rd, after four years of my daughter’s passing, Melissa Gonzalez,” said the grieving mother, Sheila Nuñez.
Back in January 2020, the Florida International University graduate was driving with her boyfriend in her silver Chevy sedan going southbound on Interstate 95 near the Northwest 79th Street exit when a bullet pierced through her window.
Investigators still don’t know who shot the 22-year-old who had a bright future, with plans to become a lawyer.
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Police do not believe that Gonzalez was the intended target. Investigators previously released surveillance video of someone getting into a dark-colored four-door car and speeding off west towards 7th Avenue.
Nuñez says investigators may have a person of interest in this case, but police have not officially confirmed that information.
“It has been four years since this happened, and I can’t tell you how much pain I am in," Nuñez said. "It has been hell from day one. When they gave me the news that my daughter has passed away from a bullet, I had no idea what was going on."
Nuñez has also been pushing for cameras along that stretch of the interstate where her daughter lost her life. There are cameras in some areas of I-95, but they only show the highway live and don’t record.
“We need every single effort from the police, from politicians, from Congress members," Nuñez said. "We need to know what’s going on because it is not fair that after such a long time, no one has done anything. My daughter is in heaven and she’s waiting for me to make justice and justice for her."
If you have information about this crime that happened four years ago, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
