The murder of a 7-year-old girl who was shot to death while she slept in her grandmother’s bed remains unsolved nearly 10 years later.
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein is offering a reward up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person involved in the killing of A’yanna Allen and the attempted murder of her grandmother, the governor’s office announced on Monday, September 14.
A’yanna was shot at least 13 times in her sleep while at her grandmother Shirley Robinson’s home in Salisbury, North Carolina, on December 4, 2016, WCNC-TV reported. An autopsy revealed A’yanna had 20 firearm-related wounds.
Officers who responded to the fatal shooting also discovered Robinson, 56, had been shot, according to authorities. Robinson survived her injuries.
A’yanna was a second grade student at Koontz Elementary School in Salisbury when she was killed, according to her obituary. She was survived by her mother, several brothers and sisters and grandparents.
A few months after A’yanna’s death, in February 2017, Robinson pleaded for someone to come forward with information regarding the unsolved case, WJZY-TV reported.
“I know y’all know something, tell something. If you hear something tell it, because I need closure for A’yanna,” Robinson said at the time.
A’yanna’s other grandmother, April Woodberry, believes the shooting occurred as part of retaliation in connection with a separate alleged murder that happened near Robinson’s home the same evening, per the TV station.
Authorities have previously said the alleged shooter was targeting someone inside Robinson’s house, according to WCNC-TV.
“We must use every tool at our disposal to pursue justice for victims,” Stein said in a statement. “I urge North Carolinians who have information about this case to contact local law enforcement and help us hold A’yanna Allen’s murderer accountable.”
More than two years after A’yanna’s death, the Salisbury Police Department shared a Facebook post in memory of A’yanna, writing, “We cannot rest until we put the person responsible for this in jail.”:
Below the post, a user named Missie Weaver commented and said she was A’yanna’s kindergarten teacher.
“She was such a bubbly, happy little girl,” Weaver wrote of the child.
The governor’s office encourages anyone with information on A’yanna’s murder to call Salisbury police at (704) 638-5333, Rowan County Crime Stoppers at (866) 639-5245, or the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation at (919) 662-4500.
Salisbury is located about a 30-mile drive northeast from Charlotte.
