ORLANDO, Fla. – A 16-year-old girl found shot to death Monday evening outside a home in Orange County had been reported missing in August, Orlando police said.
The fatal shooting happened around 7 p.m. on Broken Pine Circle, just west of Hiawassee Road near Clarcona Ocoee Road.
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The Orange County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified the victim as De’Shayla Sanaa Ferguson, who turned 16 last week.
Deputies said they found Ferguson shot near a vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We have no additional information to release at this time,” the sheriff’s office said in an email. “Be assured our homicide detectives are working diligently to find and arrest her killer.”
Police, meanwhile, said officers were called Aug. 12 to the Department of Children and Families office on South Kirkman Road in reference to a teen who had left the facility. A missing persons report was then generated for Ferguson, according to police.
Neighbors want answers and they’re calling for peace.
“Please stop the violence. We want to live safely in our homes without any problems,” Quanda Marcano said. “I’m horrified, it’s devastating.”
A neighbor who only wanted to be identified by Maria told News 6, “I was sleep when I laid down and I heard one shot, ‘boom.’” She went on to say, “I’m feeling bad, because I have a granddaughter this age, 16 years old.”
Sheriff’s officials initially identified the victim as a woman, not a teen.
No other details have been released.
An investigation is ongoing.
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