On a Valentine's Day evening in Washington, D.C., 18-year-old Cierra Young was looking forward to a night out with a friend. She left her District Heights, Maryland, home around 8 p.m. on Sunday, February 14, 2021, after being picked up by a male friend for dinner. Less than an hour later, a night that should have been filled with youthful enjoyment turned into a tragedy.
While she was a passenger in a vehicle, shots were fired into the car, striking the young woman.
The incident, which her mother believes may have stemmed from a road rage altercation, occurred around 9:12 p.m. in the 3300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Following the shooting, the car Cierra was in crashed a block away at the intersection with Branch Avenue. When police and emergency responders arrived at the scene of the two-vehicle collision, they discovered Cierra inside one of the cars, suffering from a gunshot wound to her shoulder. She was rushed to a local hospital, unconscious and not breathing, but succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
Cierra, known affectionately as 'Cici,' was a senior at Theodore Roosevelt High School with a bright future ahead of her. She was a budding entrepreneur and aspiring fashion designer who had recently launched her own clothing line named 'Evol,' a reflection on the state of the world. Her mother, LaShawn Young, described her as a fun-loving teenager who enjoyed life, loved to dance, and always had a smile on her face.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the Metropolitan Police Department launched a homicide investigation. While no arrests have been made in the case, authorities identified a vehicle of interest—a white Mercedes-Benz with heavily tinted windows—that was captured on surveillance cameras. A reward of $25,000 was offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Cierra's death. The investigation remains ongoing as her family continues to seek justice for their beloved daughter, whose life was cut short in a senseless act of violence.
