Family remembers Tikiya Allen on what would have been her 22nd birthday

DETROIT, Mich. (FOX 2) -
Tikiya Allen was shot and killed while on her bicycle outside a friend's duplex more than three years ago.

Tonight, on what would have been her 22nd birthday, Allen's family gathered at Riverside Park in Detroit to release balloons and celebrate her life.

The 18-year-old was caught in the crossfire in the area of Pingree and Linwood around 4:30 p.m. July 21, 2021. Years later, her family is searching for justice while police still look for the shooter.

"It's hard for me not to cry," Bonnie Whittaker, Tikiya's grandmother, said. "These guns have got to be gotten under control. We're losing our future."

Tikiya's father, Timothy Allen, said he's still looking for the shooter's car.

After the murder, Detroit police said the shooter was in a Ford Taurus with a custom paint job and unique rims.

"Somebody out there in this city knows who was in that car that day," said Tikiya's father, Timothy Allen. "Every day I ride around this city looking at red Taurus. Every time I see a red Taurus I can’t tell you the state it puts me in."

Timothy said that his daughter deserves justice. 

"She was a young lat who was doing what she was supposed to be doing," Timothy Allen said."