The family of a 10-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet during a New Year's celebration in northwest Miami-Dade is sharing their heartbreak as police continue their search for whoever pulled the trigger.
Yaneliz Munguia was celebrating with family members outside their home in the 2100 block of Northwest 27th Avenue in Allapattah when she suddenly collapsed around 12:04 a.m. Wednesday, Miami-Dade Police officials said.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
>
WATCH HEREHer parents started looking her over for injuries and discovered a wound to the back of her head. She was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Munguia had just turned 10 on Dec. 26.
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
>
SIGN UP
"She was the most beautiful," her father told NBC6 in Spanish Thursday. "I'll never have another like her."
The father held a drawing Munguia had made him for Father's Day. He and her mother remembered her as very smart.
Local
"It's very painful losing a family member because we'll never get to see them again," her grandfather, Ramon Valdizon, told reporters in Spanish Wednesday night.
The grandfather fought back tears as he remembered Munguia as a happy child.
"Every time I would come over, she would get super happy when she'd see me and today when I came," he said.
Valdizon also spoke about Munguia's 6-year-old brother, who keeps asking about his big sister. He said his daughter has to lie to his grandson about where she is.
Police believe Munguia was struck by a stray bullet fired into the air by an unknown person and from an unknown location. Detectives are searching for whoever is responsible.
Authorities in South Florida have spent decades reminding New Year's revelers to refrain from shooting guns, following the tragic death of 5-year-old Rickia Isaac, who was killed by a stray bullet on New Year's Eve in Miami in 1997.
"We speak time and time again every New Year's about the fact that what goes up must come down and this is a prime example of the dangers of shooting a firearm indiscriminately into the air," Det. Andre Martin said. "We have a 10-year-old girl who lost her life at the beginning of the year, we have two parents, a mother and a father, who are now planning a funeral for their daughter to start their year off."
Police are asking anyone with information to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
