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People gather at Avondale park to remember woman killed outside Phoenix nightclub
23-year-old Destiny McClain was killed outside Karamba nightclub near Downtown Phoenix during the overnight hours of July 18. Police say she was ordering food from a food truck when she was struck by gunfire. On July 21, family, friends, and others gathered to remember McClain. FOX 10's Jennifer Martinez reports.
PHOENIX - A vigil was held in the West Valley on the night of July 21 for a young woman who was gunned down over the weekend outside a nightclub in Phoenix.
The shooting happened outside the Karamba nightclub on during the early morning hours of July 18. Phoenix Police officials say officers responded to a shooting call in the area at 3:30 a.m., and when they arrived, they found a woman with a life-threatening gunshot wound.
"You hear five rounds go off. Might have been more," said Rafael Martinez, in a phone interview on July 18.
The victim, identified as 23-year-old Destiny McClain, later died at the hospital.
"We ran to her and they started administering CPR," Martinez recounted. "I was holding her wound with the shirt and wiping the blood from her nose and mouth. We’re just trying to get her pulse going until the paramedics got there, doing what we could to keep her alive."
An investigation revealed that McClain had been ordering food from a food truck when she was struck by gunfire, police say.
Police are not sure if the shooting was targeted or merely a random event, but Martinez believes the club was targeted.
"Everyone from Phoenix knows what that is, and for someone to think it’s OK to do that, it's very disturbing, especially in this day and age. A woman’s life was cut short, but they need to find the suspect and bring closure to this family," said Martinez.
Friends, family say victim was loved by many
A number of people at the vigil, which was held at Friendship Park in Avondale, wore green. Green was McClain's favorite color.
During the vigil, green balloons were released into the night sky.
"It feels so nice to know that my sister touched so many lives, and so many people came out to support us," said, Bryana McClain, the victim's big sister. "It makes me happy to know that so many people cried about my sister because I don't want her to be forgotten or just be known as the girl shot at a food truck, because she was more than that."
Coworkers, family, friends, as well as people who heard her story and wanted to support the family came to say a prayer,and take a moment of silence. Those who knew the victim shared stories of the girl they say was goofy and caring with a heart of gold.
"Definitely goofy, always bossing me around, and like I said, I'm the big cousin, but she would put me in my place because she was the little big cousin," said the victim's big cousin, Myresha Miller.
The family asking the shooter to do the right thing.
"We just want the person to come forward because we have to keep wondering why," said Bryana.
Anyone with information should leave an anonymous tip by calling Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS. Spanish speakers can leave an anonymous tip by calling Testigo Silencioso at 480-TESTIGO.
Si tiene alguna información sobre este caso, llame a la línea de Testigo Silencioso (480-TESTIGO, 480-837-8446).
Silent Witness
https://www.silentwitness.org/
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