Four men have been arrested in connection with the death of a 13-year-old girl who died Saturday night during a drive-by shooting in Monroe, North Carolina.
Loyalti Allah and some friends were sitting at a picnic bench waiting for a DoorDash order when a black Ford Freestyle SUV drove by and someone inside the vehicle began shooting in the direction of the children before speeding away, per PEOPLE.
Allah was struck by a stray bullet and was treated on the scene by responding officers. She was taken to Atrium Health Union, where she was pronounced dead. According to the report, there were no other victims.
“My baby was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but she was having fun, and she’s gone,” said the girl’s mother, Yvette Allen, reports WSOC. “Can’t never get that back.”
Police ultimately recovered the SUV and on July 25, four men were arrested on charges of first-degree murder: Javon Demontre Robinson, 20, Darius Roland, 19; Jamarius Crowder, 22; and Jamarius McClain, 18. They are being held in Union County jail with no bond, according to the report.
“After a very long and emotionally exhausting night and day, Monroe Police have made an arrest in the shooting that occurred last night on Icemorlee Drive that resulted in the death of a 13-year-old girl,” Monroe police said in a statement shared on Facebook.
“I’m sorry for her loss. It didn’t mean [it] to go down that way,” Robinson said as he was taken into custody, reports WBTV.
“I been in the hospital for three days this week, and I came home Saturday morning. Saturday evening—my baby was gone. Nobody don’t know how I feel to see my baby laying there taking her last breath,” Allen told the news station.
“Our officers have done an amazing job in leaving no stone unturned to ensure the individuals who committed this crime are not only identified, but also apprehended and brought to justice,” said Monroe’s chief of police, Bryan Gilliard. “This is such a devastating act that has far-reaching implications that was entirely uncalled for. These individuals took an innocent life for absolutely no reason and now a family and community has to live with this forever.”
The little girl’s family has launched a GoFundMe page and a Meal Train page, soliciting donations for burial costs and other expenses.
The campaign page notes that Allah was shot “as she sat innocently with some friends on a picnic table outside her apartment. Just being a little 13-year-old girl, drinking a soda, and talking with friends.”
“I can’t have hate towards them. They’re babies as well,” Allen said, adding “I’m not saying they don’t know right from wrong.”
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