17-year-old killed outside her family's Long Beach home
The family of a 17-year-old shot and killed steps away from her Long Beach doorstep are still searching for answers to why their loved one was gunned down on her walk home.
"They are heartbroken, honestly; it is not easy without her," sister Camila Soto Morales said. "She was like the glue to our family."
It has been less than a week since the Soto family said goodbye to their 17-year-old Brianna Soto Morales.
"She was amazing. She's like my best friend," Camila said. "She has taught me everything I know."
Now, Camila can only hold onto the memories of her big sister.
"She loves this one group," she said. "One of their most recent songs, she was so happy about it because it had her name in it."
Camila said her sister would blast her music at 7 a.m.
Brianna was walking home from work at McDonald's when she was gunned down just steps away from her home. Mother Ana Morales said she had just gotten off the phone Facetiming with Brianna around 8 p.m. on March 26 when she heard gunshots outside their Long Beach home. When she called her daughter back on the phone, a young man answered but she could not understand his English.
Ana rushed outside to find her daughter bleeding on the ground. Brianna died in the hospital days later.
Ana said Brianna's 18th birthday was coming up and she was looking forward to getting a pink dress for prom before graduating from Long Beach Polytechnic High School.
However, instead of celebrating these life achievements, her family is preparing for her funeral.
Ana said Brianna was a good person, trying to graduate to prove she could do it and make her family proud.
The Long Beach Police Department is investigating the shooting but has not found any witnesses. The family said they hadn't figured out who the young man was who answered the phone after Brianna was shot.
"How are you going to go after someone who didn't do anything to you and take them away from their family; take her away from her friends, her loved ones, " Camila said. "Why would you do that to her? Why did they do that?
Grieving a young life taken too soon, the family is yearning for some kind of justice of answers as to why their daughter is no longer with them.
