Kent Police remained confident this week that they will solve the crime of who shot and killed a 1-year-old baby girl in a drive-by-shooting last week on Kent’s West Hill.
Malaja Miracle Grant, who was shot in the head on April 16 while riding in her parents car, died after she was taken off life support Saturday night at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Grant lived in Kent with her parents, according to Kent Police.
Shots were fired into the car by two shooters from another car at about 4:30 p.m. April 16 near the intersection of Lake Fenwick Road and Reith Road on the West Hill.
As of Wednesday, Kent Police had not released any details about the two shooters, their car or possible reasons for the shooting. The shooters remained at-large.
Police Chief Ken Thomas told the City Council at its Tuesday meeting that detectives will track down the shooters.
“We had a really terrible tragedy this past week with a homicide investigation of a 1 year old,” Thomas said. “This case is the number one priority of our police department. Our detectives have not taken a day off since this incident happened.
“I can tell you we are making progress and I absolutely believe we are going to solve this case. But I don’t want to compromise our opportunities by providing too much information before it’s time. I cannot say more at this time.”
The baby was in the back seat and her parents occupied the front seat when their car, a silver Chevrolet Impala, was hit at the intersection of Lake Fenwick Road and Reith Road. A black car pulled alongside the silver car near the Lake Fenwick Estates apartments, and the driver and passenger in the black vehicle opened fire before driving off. The girl was struck as she sat in her car seat.
Police no longer consider the shooting the result of a road rage incident, which is what they first reported.
“Although the preliminary reports indicated that it (road rage) was the spark to the incident, we are taking all things into consideration as we look at the evidence and witness accounts,” Kent Police spokesman Jarod Kasner said.
Kent Police released this statement last week:
“The tragic shooting that took place is a top priority for the Kent Police Department and all of our available resources are being utilized towards this investigation. This does not appear to be a random incident at this time and we continue to follow all leads that present themselves.
“We are not releasing any further details at this time while we continue our investigation.”
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