$11,000 reward offered for information on fatal shooting of Jacksonville child

Jacksonville, FL — There is now an $11,000 reward being offered for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Heydi Rivas-Villanueva on Jacksonville’s Westside. This comes as the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office releases new surveillance footage of two men and several cars believed to be involved.

Heydi was sitting in a car with her dad in a parking lot on 103rd Street Saturday evening, while her mother was in a store. JSO says two men seen in the surveillance footage walked to an adjacent parking lot, about 70 feet away, and got in some kind of argument with at least one person in a dark sedan. It appears that a dark Kia next to that sedan was also involved. It's unclear how many people were in each of those two cars.

During the argument, JSO says gunfire erupted between the parties. Sheriff Mike Williams says their preliminary investigation has shown more than a dozen shots were fired, and one of them hit Heydi in the head, while she was sitting in the car. Police say Heydi and her family were not targeted or involved in any way. Instead, she was caught in the crossfire.

A Good Samaritan took Heydi and her father to the hospital, but the girl died as a result of the gunshot.

“A terrible evening. A combination of sadness and anger, than I know the entire community is feeling,” says Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry.

The two people caught on surveillance footage fled to a green Nissan Altima, that appears to be an early to mid-2000s model. JSO believes that vehicle has a bullet hole in its windshield.

Heydi Rivas Villanueva Death Investigation - PLEASE SHARE On August 11, 2018, around 6:00 p.m., 7-year-old Heydi Rivas...

Posted by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Sunday, August 12, 2018

As of JSO’s mid-Sunday news conference, Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida says seven tips had been called in. Williams says that information has given them good leads, which they continue to investigate. Later Sunday, JSO released the additional surveillance video, in the hope that someone would recognize those involved.

“At the end of the day, we have to have partnerships with the community to solve cases like this. We absolutely have to,” Williams says.

Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida Executive Director Wyllie Hodges is emphasizing that any tip called in to them is completely anonymous. He took it further, to say anyone with information is obligated to come forward with it.

“If the criminals out there knew that, every time they commit a crime, that our phones are gunna start ringing- I assure you that would be a deterrent to crime,” Hodges says.

To be eligible for the $11,000 reward, your tip must be called in to Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. You can also submit information to JSO directly at 904-630-0500, but that does not allow you to be eligible for the reward.

State Attorney Melissa Nelson says felony murder will be the foundation of charges they bring forward in this case. Florida law allows suspects to be held accountable for a murder committed while they were engaging in a felony crime, even if they did not commit the murder itself.

LIVE - Sheriff Mike Williams makes a public plea for information on the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl. Reward is now up to $11,000. Crime Stoppers is 1-866-845-TIPS.

Posted by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office on Sunday, August 12, 2018
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