Florida girl shot by stray bullet as reveler fires off gun to ring in New Year

A 10-year-old Florida girl was shot and killed after a reveler fired off gunshots to ring in the New Year. Yanelis Munuguia was celebrating the holiday with her family when she was struck in the back of the head by a stray bullet. She collapsed to the ground and died around 12:04 am. The innocent child had just celebrated her tenth birthday on December 26.

A suspect has not yet been taken into custody. Miami-Dade police believe the unidentified person recklessly fired shots into the air to ring in the start of 2025.

"We speak time and time again every new year about the fact that what goes up must come down," Detective Andre Martin told CBS News. "This is a prime example of the dangers of shooting a firearm indiscriminately into the air. We have a 10-year-old girl who lost her life at the beginning of the year."

The grief-stricken family now has to start its year planning their little girl's funeral.

"Shooting a gun into the sky has consequences," said Yanelis' family member Carlos Gutierrez, holding back tears. "Who paid? A little girl. What did the girl do? Nothing. What fault did she have? But that's the way things are."

The little girl's grandfather, Ramon Valdizon, expressed grievances about how he would never get to see Yanelis again. "Everytime I came over, she was always happy to see me and now I can't bear to enter their home and not be able to see her again," he said.

Valdizon added, "It hurts my soul. I cannot stand to go in that house and not see her again."

Authorities have not released a suspect description and are offering up to $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest. A GoFundMe has been set up by the family to help fund the young girl's funeral, which has been scheduled for January 11.