Mikalah Franklin was a 14-year-old Black female from Austin, Texas. In the early morning hours of June 6, 2023, she was fatally shot in the head at the Bridge at Harris Ridge Apartments, located in northeast Austin near Dessau Elementary School. Multiple 911 calls came in around 1:30 a.m. reporting gunfire. Upon arrival, officers discovered 14-year-old Black female Mikalah with critical head injuries; she was rushed to Dell Children’s Medical Center, where the 14-year-old Black female victim
later succumbed to her injuries.
Mikalah Franklin, described by her family as loving, funny, goofy, and protective of her siblings, was killed while shielding her five-year-old brother. Her mother, Teshina Guajardo, recounted that Mikalah had just stepped outside with her siblings to sit on the back of their truck when a black car pulled in and shots rang out. Mikalah, the 14-year-old Black female, bent over to grab her youngest brother, risking her own safety to protect him. Her younger sister saw the shooting unfold and later shared how “they just started letting shots off.” When the mother reached the scene, Mikalah was found lying lifeless in the back of the truck. The 14-year-old Black female was later declared brain-dead and was not expected to survive.
Following the shooting, the community responded with grief and frustration. Mikalah’s mother harshly referred to the unidentified perpetrators as “cowards,” expressing that it was senseless for someone to open fire in an apartment complex rather than confront whatever or whoever they feared. The family had already felt unsafe in their apartment complex, and just two days before the shooting, Mikalah’s mother had reached out about getting out of her lease because she didn’t feel that her children were safe.
Over the following months, Austin law enforcement investigated the case. On August 1, 2023, detectives arrested a 17-year-old male, Micah Marshall, whom they identified as the prime suspect in the death of the 14-year-old Black female Mikalah Franklin. He was charged with first-degree murder. The case was considered a homicide, and investigators remained open to the possibility of additional suspects.
However, in March 2024, the charges against Micah Marshall were dismissed, and he was released. The family of the 14-year-old Black female victim expressed deep frustration that, despite the Austin Police Department’s claim of a 100 percent homicide clearance rate in 2023, their granddaughter’s case felt unresolved—her killer was still roaming free. The family continues to call for action, insisting that justice for the 14-year-old Black female victim must not be overlooked or forgotten.
