10-year-old 'sleeping in her bed peacefully,' when she was shot, killed Friday morning
A 10-year-old Milwaukee girl was shot and killed while sleeping in her bed early Friday morning when an upstairs neighbor accidentally fired a bullet through her ceiling, striking her in the chest, her 14-year-old sister said.
The girl's sister identified her as Isdennyeliz Ortiz, a student of Milwaukee's Kagel School who was born in Puerto Rico, played volleyball and loved making YouTube videos.
"She was very happy. She was smiley. She loved the color purple. She wanted to be a YouTuber. She loved animals with all her heart," said Brandy Ortiz, 14, who spoke on behalf of her mother Friday morning outside their home on the 2100 block of West Orchard Street on Milwaukee's south side.
The family moved from Puerto Rico seven years ago, Brandy said.
The family lives in a tri-level home. Brandy's step-grandparents live in the basement unit, while Brandy and Isdennyeliz lived with their immediate family on the second level. Their stepdad's brother and his children live on the third level.
About 12:40 a.m. Friday, someone on the third level fired a bullet through the floor of the unit, Brandy said. It struck Isdennyeliz in her bedroom on the second level. Brandy's mother wanted the public to know that Isdennyeliz was not playing in the street, as some rumors had alleged.
"She was sleeping in her bed peacefully," Brandy said.
Police told the Journal Sentinel they're seeking a known subject.
Isdennyeliz was a creative, cheerful child, her sister said. She liked drawing and playing the online game Roblox, and she liked to film and edit videos with her friends. Thursday afternoon, she came home from school in an especially happy mood, Brandy said.
Now, Brandy and her family are reeling after such an unexpected and tragic loss. Some aunts are headed to Milwaukee from Texas. But most of their family lives in Puerto Rico.
Brandy, an eighth-grader, stood on the sidewalk holding her 1-year-old brother on her hip Friday morning. She explained that another sister died in her sleep when she was 2 months old.
"So it's two deaths in the family," Brandy said. "It's just me and him now, out of four."
Milwaukee Ald. JoCasta Zamarripa, who represents the district where the shooting occurred, said in a statement that such incidents are "wholly preventable."
"I was shocked and horrified to learn that overnight a 10-year-old girl lost her life due to gun violence," Zamarripa said. "There is no other way to describe this horrific incident other than to say it is utterly unacceptable. I am devastated for the family who suffered this loss, and my heart is with them at this time."
Isdennyeliz's death follows the recent shooting deaths of two other youth in Milwaukee, Alejandro Sanchez and Monroe Weso, both 15, on May 18. A 15-year-old, Christopher N. Scott, has been charged in their deaths.
Last year, 147 victims younger than 18 were injured or killed in shootings in Milwaukee, according to a Medical College of Wisconsin database.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Isdennyeliz Ortiz, 10, shot and killed Friday morning in Milwaukee
