16-year-old girl killed outside chaperoned house party
By: Associated Press Wire Reports - | ∞
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Jelisa Office was not the kind of 16-year-old girl who went to parties much, and the straight-A student was usually busy with studies or her fast-food job.
But she decided to go to a chaperoned house party on Friday night with girlfriends to celebrate her driver's license and the purchase of a Buick Century with her part-time wages.
As she was sitting in her car after the party broke up around 11 p.m. a spray of gunfire blasted the street. The girl was struck by two bullets and died immediately, police said.
Homicide detectives were still searching for the gunman this weekend, said Sacramento Police Sgt. Matt Young. Police say the killer may belong to a gange, but Office did not appear to have any such affiliation. Police described her as an innocent bystander.
At a memorial vigil Saturday night, friends and relatives described an honor-roll student at Rio Linda High School who planned to go to college and become a pediatrician.
"This is an opportunity for our spirit to grow," said her uncle, Jeffrey Office. "Today is the day we must choose, because tomorrow is no guarantee. Today is a gift."
Marjae Bolden, 19, who drove to the party with Office, was lying inside the Buick when she heard gunfire.
"I looked up and she was on the ground," Bolden said. "She was my best friend, nice, caring."
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