Family and community gather to pray for girl injured in south Sacramento shooting

A prayer circle was held on Friday evening for the 3-year-old girl struck by a stray bullet that entered her South Sacramento home.

Deputies believe Azalya was inside the house Tuesday when the shooting occurred, Sacramento Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Shaun Hampton said, and the shots were fired from near the street. Witnesses said that they heard a vehicle leaving the scene at a “high rate of speed.”

Azalya remains in critical condition, family members said.

Family members, friends and other community members gathered at 5:30 p.m. at her home to say a prayer and make statements about the incident.

“We just want justice, and we want it fast,” Azalya’s cousin Yvette Tillis said through tears.

Voice of the Youth founder Berry Accius led the event, and led a prayer for Azalya along with her aunt, Dorothy Stocker.

“No family, no child, no human being should have to go through this,” Stocker said. “I just ask that everybody continue to lift this family up with prayer. We gotta pray for the world, y’all.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2018 at 9:48 PM.