Family of murdered Dallas teen wants police to find killer

Family members of a 14-year-old girl shot and killed while at a park Monday night with her friends say they still have no idea why someone would kill her.

Natalie Hernandez is being described as a bright, young girl who was kind and funny. Her family says she had gone out to get food with friends before they went out to the park. They're not sure what they'll do until they find out who killed her.

Natalie’s family was planning her Quincenera for her fifteenth birthday this summer. Instead, they're now planning her funeral.

The 14-year-old girl was killed and a 16-year-old boy was injured in a drive-by shooting at a park across from Hawthorne Elementary in Pleasant Grove around 10 p.m.

Dallas police say the two of them were with another boy and girl in a car when four men in a dark-colored vehicle pulled up and started shooting. The victims were able to drive to a nearby gas station off South Buckner Boulevard and went inside for help. The clerk says he watched Natalie collapse as he called 911. She later died at Baylor Hospital.

The boy was shot in the leg but survived. The two others are unharmed physically.

Homicide detectives are now reviewing surveillance videos to try to get better leads on the suspects. The family knows getting justice will not bring her back, but they still want answers.

"It's been really hard. We don't know what to expect. We don't know what's going to happen. We don't know what tomorrow is going to bring us,” said Mireya Hernandez, Natalie’s aunt. “We're just waiting for the detectives to tell us what they know or who did this. We just want to know why."

Grief counselors are at the high school this week for her friends and teachers. A candlelight vigil is planned for Natalie at Crawford park this Friday at 7 p.m. Her funeral will be early next week.

Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information in her murder and the aggravated assault of those three other victims.