On a Sunday evening in Indianapolis, 16-year-old Nya Mae Cope was fatally struck by a stray bullet, forever altering the lives of her family. The young female from Marion had been visiting Indianapolis with her mother and a friend on May 3, 2020. As they were driving near the intersection of 38th Street and Arlington Avenue, they found themselves caught in the midst of a large gathering of people in hundreds of cars.
It was in this chaotic scene that a bullet pierced the trunk of their vehicle, traveled through a headrest, and struck Nya.
Nya was in the backseat of her mother's car when she was hit. Her friend, who was also in the backseat, immediately called 911, but tragically, Nya could not be saved. Police do not believe that she was the intended target of the gunfire. The bullet that ended her life is thought to have come from someone within the crowd that had converged at the intersection. Her mother later recalled the horrific moments, stating she saw her daughter fall over and realized she had been shot.
In the wake of the tragedy, Nya's family has been left to grapple with their profound loss. Her mother has described the immense pain of losing her only child, for whom she worked two jobs to provide. A memorial with a cross bearing Nya’s name and picture was placed at the site of the shooting. Despite the passage of time, no arrests have been made in connection with Nya's death, and investigators have not released any information about potential suspects. Her mother continues to plead for anyone with information to come forward, hoping for justice and some measure of peace for her daughter.
