PHOENIX — Giaginette Brown’s family is calling on the community to come forward with information after the teen was killed in a drive-by shooting Sunday morning.
Nearly 100 of Brown's friends and family members gathered outside the home in west Phoenix.
"I feel like the house is empty. I just want her back," said Terri Smith, Brown's aunt. "We are not going to forget about Gia. Gia laid in her bed Saturday night and was murdered while she slept."
Phoenix police say bullets from a drive-by shooting hit the home where Brown was sleeping. Investigators believe the home near 107th Avenue and Camelback Road was the target.
"Justice for Gia,” the crowd shouted at the vigil.
At the vigil, family, friends and teachers shared memories of the teenager.
"An overload of laughter,” said Brown's sister, Paris Holmes. “The constant laughter, the smiles all around you and her always finding a way to bring smiles on our faces no matter what.”
Fifteen candles, representing the number of years Brown poured love into all she knew, created a big presence outside her home. Sprinkled around those were a few smaller candles from those who felt such a big impact from having her around.
"She meant everything to me. She was my pride, my joy, and kept me going,” added Holmes.
Everyone in attendance wanted just one thing: for the person who killed Brown to come forward.
"They stole a life while out here playing guns, 'cops and robbers', or whatever they're doing,” said Gia’s Godmother, Tracie Washington.
The family wants that person or someone who knows that person to call Silent Witness.
"There is a moment of anger. There is a moment of agony, a moment of regret as if there is something we could have done differently,” said Washington.
The family recently lost Brown's grandmother, who also lived in the home where the shooting happened. They're now planning two funerals and have started an online fundraiser to help with those expenses.
Anyone with information is asked to call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish speakers.
