Photo: Cedar Rapids Police Department
(Cedar Rapids, IA) -- Cedar Rapids Police are releasing the name of a 15-year-old girl, found dead in a vehicle. Police say Tyliya Whitis of Peoria, Illinois had at least one gunshot wound, her official cause of death has not been released yet. Police found her body early Monday, July 20th, in the driver's seat of a vehicle that had crashed outside the Hawthorne Hills apartment complex in the 22-hundred block of C Street SW.
Police say the vehicle was registered to a family member of Whitis. Investigators continue to process evidence as part of this active, ongoing investigation.
Police say based on the preliminary investigation, the shooting appears to be a targeted incident. No suspects have been arrested at this time.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Cedar Rapids Police Department at (319) 286-5491 or Linn County Crime Stoppers at 1-800–CS-CRIME.