Seven-year-old Kirsten Lakiyah Williams was playing outside her Memphis, Tennessee, home on a Friday evening, April 10, 2015, when her life was tragically cut short. A vehicle approached, and multiple rounds were fired, striking the young girl in the head. Children who were playing nearby found Kirsten lying in the driveway after the shooting ceased.
Investigators later determined that the shooting was gang-related and that Kirsten was not the intended target.
The assailants were reportedly retaliating for a shooting that had occurred on the same street the previous night. The intended target of the shooting was someone at the residence where Kirsten was playing.
Three men, identified as Carl Johnson, 19, Jordan Clayton, 21, and Branden Brookins, 19, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. Police stated that all three men were members of local gangs. At the time of their arrest, it was reported that Clayton and Brookins had existing criminal records.
