Memorial for Loyalti Allah
Four men have been arrested for allegedly murdering a 13-year-old girl in a drive-by shooting on Saturday.
The suspects were identified by the city of Monroe, North Carolina as Javon Demontre Robinson, 20, Darius Roland, 19, Jamarius Crowder, 22, and Jamarius McClain. Robinson, Roland, and men by the name of Jamari Crowder and Jamari Davis McClain, 18, (note the first name spelling discrepancy) are in the Union County Jail on a count each of murder, online records show.
The child, later identified in media reports as Loyalti Allah, was sitting with friends at a picnic tables when a black Ford Freestyle SUV drove by, according to the police account described by the city. Someone from inside the vehicle began opening fire at the girl’s direction and sped away, officials said.
The Monroe Police Department did not immediately respond to a Law&Crime request for more information.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Robinson told WBTV as he was escorted in handcuffs, mumbling to the effect of, “didn’t mean for it to go down that way.”
Asked why it happened, he said, “I don’t know.”
It is unclear if the four young men have attorneys of record at this time.
“My baby was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but she was having fun, and she’s gone,” Loyalti’s mother Yvette told WSOC-TV. “Can’t never get that back.”
The grieving mother nonetheless did not voice hatred toward the young men who allegedly murdered her daughter.
“I can’t have hate towards them,” she said. “They babies as well. I’m not saying they don’t know right from wrong.”
GoFundMe and Meal Train campaigns were started on the family’s behalf.
[Screengrab via WSOC]