Family heartbroken after girl killed by stray bullet on New Year's Day in NW Dade
MIAMI - A South Florida family is heartbroken and seeking justice after a 10-year-old girl was killed by a stray bullet on New Year's Day.
According to police, Yanelis Munuguia was with her family in the parking lot in front of their apartment, at Northwest 27th Avenue and Northwest 21st Terrace, lighting fireworks around 1:30 a.m. to celebrate the new year when she was struck in the head by a bullet. Yanelis collapsed to the ground.
Her family put her in a car with the intent of driving her to the hospital. During the frantic drive, they called 911. They were met by Hialeah Fire Rescue at Palm Avenue and West Third Street who took the girl to the Ryder Trauma Center where she died.
Yanelis' parents say their last memory of their daughter was of her smiling as she waved a sparkler around in the parking lot to ring in the new year. They said Yanelis had just celebrated her 10th birthday on the day after Christmas.
Carlos Baldizon shared a precious piece of paper that he clings to, a drawing that his daughter did. As he shed tears, he said "She made this for me on Father's Day."
He said he was thankful of " everyone's support. For the people who did not know her, she was a beautiful girl. We were thankful because she was a wonderful child, but we have another child, of the girls she was the most beautiful. We are never going to have another one like her again, but God wanted to take her away,"
CBS News Miami also spoke with the grieving grandfather. "There is a lot of suffering with the death of the child," Ramon Baldizon said. "It's hard to bear this pain. They had two children. Now there is only one. He is barely 6 years old."
Police believe the person who fired the shot was probably shooting into the air to celebrate the start of 2025 and had no idea that a bullet had struck someone. They said at this time they have no leads or suspects in the case.
"The person who shot the bullet in to the air, I don't know what your intentions were," Ramon Baldizon said. "If you have any conscience, don't ever do that craziness again because if it happens to my granddaughter, it can happen to anybody."
The grandfather added: "Saying good eye to the old year and bring in the new year is giving us an incredible amount of grief. The person that fired the shots has ruined our lives."
Ramon Baldizon said the family is need of burial expenses and has turned to a fundraising website.
"I ask for help morally and financially," he said. "Even it is 1 cent or 10 cents or 50 cents, we don't have a lot of money."
The family and police are urging anyone with information to come forward.
"If you know anyone who was firing weapons into the air on New Year's Eve you need to come forward and speak to detectives," Miami-Dade Detective Andre Martin said. "If you were the person firing into the air, you need to do the right thing. Accidents happen. This may not have been done on purpose. You need to come forward and talk to detectives."
A reward of up to $5,000 is offered for information that leads to an arrest.
