Florida

‘No Motive, No Suspects': Cops, Family Plead for Clues in Death of Fla. Woman Shot While Driving

Melissa Gonzalez was shot and killed while driving on I-95 on Jan. 3

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Police and the family of the 22-year-old woman who was shot while driving on Interstate 95 in Miami are asking for the public's help in finding a possible suspect in her killing.

Miami-Dade Police and family members of Melissa Gonzalez held a news conference Friday to ask for the community's assistance in the case.

"We have no motive. We have no suspects, and this is literally a fact-gathering mission," Miami-Dade Police Det. Juan Segovia said. "Nothing she was doing would have warranted somebody shooting her."

Gonzalez's mother, Sheila Nunez, fought back tears as she pleaded for someone from the public to come forward with clues.

"Help me — there has to be a mother, a father, a son, a boyfriend, someone who can tell me how they killed my daughter," she said in Spanish.

Gonzalez and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Veliz Cortina, were driving southbound on the highway near Northwest 79th Street when she was shot on Jan. 3, investigators said.

Gonzalez was rushed to a local hospital, where she later died. Cortina wasn't injured.

"If you're a human being with a heart, this case should destroy you inside," Segovia said.

Segovia also released a new surveillance photo of a dark-colored 4-door sedan that was in the area around the time of the shooting and is being sought by police.

Miami-Dade Police
Police are searching for a vehicle in connection with the fatal shooting of Melissa Gonzalez on I-95.

According to Gonzalez's family, she had graduated from Florida International University in the summer of 2018 and had plans of going to law school. Her mother says she was set to take the LSAT in just a few weeks.

Investigators said they have ruled out the possibility of road rage and said they're "very confident" she was not a target. Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

"Somebody out there knows who committed this heinous murder," Segovia said.

Police ask that anyone who has information on this case contact Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

A woman who was shot Friday night while driving on Interstate 95 in Miami has passed away, highway officials say.
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