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Vigil Held For Teen Killed In Miami Drive-By

MIAMI (CBS4) -A candlelight vigil was held Wednesday night for a Miami teen killed during a drive-by shooting last month.

Family and friends of Jaykia Pitts, 17, gathered in front of the Bawa Food Market at the corner of N.W. 5th Ave. and 54th Street in Miami where to shooting took place on July 17th.

Jaykia's mother Shirlena Shepherd wants the crime to stay fresh in the community's mind so the killer will be caught.

"It's hard, just being able to see her go through what she went through, nobody deserves that and keep saying no one. It's hard to know that that person is still out there and they can commit the same crime to somebody else."

Pitts spent several weeks fighting for her life at Jackson Memorial Hospital, but succumbed to her injuries on Monday. Police say she was an innocent bystander.

The shooting also took the lives of 29-year-old Demetrius Owens, who was Pitts' boyfriend and the father of their one-year-old daughter, Armani. Rudolph Sawyer, 23, of Miami was also killed. It's not known why they were shot.

Sawyer's loved ones say he had a 6-year-old son. A fourth person, a man in his twenties, was also wounded. Surveillance tape captured the gunmen fleeing in a stolen car that was later found by police.

They still have no good description of the suspects but police are receiving some tips after a public plea for help by the families on July 19th.

Family members say funeral services for Jaykia Pitts will be held this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Faith Missionary Baptist Church at 10401 N.W. 8th Ave.

"I never expected my daughter to go before me. You look for you to go before your children. And you not be the one to bury your children," said Shepherd. "It's a hurtful day. Very hurtful."

Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the Police Department's Homicide Unit at (305) 603-6350 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).

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