Community gathers to remember girl killed in drive-by shooting

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The family of Chrisyah Stephens gathered at Riley High School Wednesday to demand justice for the 7-year-old.

Stephens was attending a birthday party on Donald Street Sunday when she lost her life in a drive-by shooting.

Dozens arrived at the march to release balloons in her memory.

“Chrisyah will be remembered as the loving little angel that she was,” Angie Lyons, Chrisyah’s great aunt said. “Chrisyah makes our hearts smile when see her smile. So when we see the smiles that she left, then we shall smile past our pain. And when we smile past our pain, it will make us feel better.”

South Bend’s police chief and Stephens former teachers stood alongside her family as they search for closure.

“She lit up our classroom,” Leslie Miller, Chrisyah’s 1st grade teacher said. “ She was the spark that kept everybody going. This was just amazing to see everybody here. This is what she was in the classroom. This embodied her spirit, her personality. This is why we’re here.”

At the shooting site, a memorial is growing for the second grader with signs reading “I was just a child, not the victim” and “say her name” lining the street.

Anybody with any additional information is asked to call the South Bend Metro Homicide Unit or Michiana Crime Stoppers at 574-288-STOP.