NORFOLK, VA (WAVY) — Family of a slain 15-year-old girl are inviting all who are able to join them at a candlelight memorial Friday night.

Dejana Leary is identified by her mother Deidre Graham as the 15-year-old girl shot dead Sunday night along West 28th St. 

“It’s just not fair; it’s just not fair,” Graham said. “She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Graham insists that her daughter, a rising junior at Maury High School, was not the target. Rather she said bullets were meant for a guy the suspect thought she could have been with. 

“They need to put the guns down. Period. Point blank,” Graham said. “It doesn’t solve anything. It just keeps going.”

While detectives have not yet confirmed those details or a motive, they have arrested Deiontrae Bates, 20, and charged him with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in a felony.

Bates had recently gotten out from behind bars after serving time for a robbery back in 2015, according to court records. 

“I’m just amazed to see how many lives she really did touch,” Graham said. “Love the person you have right there in front of you, every second, and let them know that you love them. Because you never know, you never know.” 

The candlelight memorial will be held Friday, July 27 at 8 p.m. at Shoop Park in Norfolk.