'Heartless monsters': Banner memorializing 6-year-old killed in Minneapolis is stolen

The family of a 6-year-old girl fatally shot in north Minneapolis nearly three years ago is speaking out after a banner was taken from her memorial.

Aniya Allen was fatally shot in May of 2021 when the car being driven by her mother was struck by bullets at 36th and Penn Avenue North, where there is now a memorial honoring the life of the child.

Allen’s grandfather, Minneapolis peace activist Kay G. Wilson, told media that as many as 30 shots may have been fired in the incident, suggesting that the vehicle Allen was in was caught in the crossfire. No arrests were made in connection with the shooting, and a “Justice for Aniya Allen” Facebook page remained active as of last year.

This past week, Wilson stated on Facebook that a banner reading “Justice for Aniya Allen” was taken from the memorial.

“No one should have removed her banner without me or my family's permission or approval," Wilson, who called whoever did it "heartless monsters," wrote in a Facebook post. "You were wrong and heartless."

"An innocent, 6-year-old child was murdered on that corner," Wilson said in a video he posted on Facebook Friday . Wilson encouraged anyone visiting the intersection where Allen was killed to be there with positive intentions and to honor her life.