Florida girl, 10, killed by 'celebratory gunfire' on New Year's Day: 'Devastating'
Jan 03, 2025
MIAMI, Fla. (WFLA) — A 10-year-old girl in Florida was struck and killed by "celebratory gunfire" that was shot into the air by an unknown suspect early on New Year's Day, the Miami-Dade Police Department announced Wednesday.
The girl, identified as Yaneliz Munguia, was killed at approximately 12:04 a.m. on Jan. 1, police said. She died near NW 27 Avenue and NW 21 Street in Miami.
The police are treating the case as a homicide, according to a post shared to Facebook.
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"This heartbreaking incident serves as a devastating reminder that what goes up must come down," the Miami-Dade Police Department wrote in the post. "Bullets fired into the air can take innocent lives."
Anyone with information into the case is being urged to contact Miami-Dade & The Florida Keys Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
"If you know of anyone shooting a gun up in the air in the area where Yaneliz Munguia's death occurred, please give us an anonymous tip," reads a message posted by Miami-Dade & The Florida Keys Crime Stoppers. "Our soul aches for Yaneliz's friends and family who have to start the year with broken hearts."
Any tip leading up to an arrest is eligible for a reward of up to $5,000, police said.
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Police departments around the country have been warning of the dangers of "celebratory gunfire" leading up to New Year's. Cops in Kansas City reminded revelers of a strict Missouri law which punishes such offenses (passed after a child's similar death in 2011), while police in Austin, Texas, told residents that bullets can return "at speeds greater than 200 feet per second — a sufficient force to penetrate the human skull and cause serious injury or death," Nexstar's KXAN reported.
“(Celebratory gunfire) is just not something you do,” Michele Shanahan DeMoss, whose daughter Blair died after being struck by a bullet in 2011, told Nexstar's WDAF.
“I hope anybody who’s at a party realizes how stupid it is for somebody to have a gun. If you’re having a party and there’s alcohol, a gun shouldn’t be there anyway,” DeMoss added.
WDAF's Sean McDowell contributed to this story.