A 13-year-old girl who once beat the odds as a premature newborn has died in a tragedy that has devastated her family just days before Christmas.
Jaleeyah Tune, a seventh-grader in Goldsboro, was shot in broad daylight on Sunday, December 21, 2025. Police were called to Alpha Court around 4:35 p.m. and found her at the scene. She was pronounced dead shortly after.
Investigators say three teenage boys—ages 15 and 16—were arrested within hours. They now face first-degree murder and conspiracy charges as detectives continue to examine what led to the killing.
Jaleeyah’s mother, Whitney Brown-Tune, described her as her “miracle baby,” born premature and brought home shortly before Christmas in 2012. Now, she says, her daughter is gone just before the holiday she loved. Unopened gifts still sit beneath the tree.
Jaleeyah’s 14-year-old sister shared a heartbreaking account, saying they were walking home when boys emerged from nearby bushes and started shooting. She said she held Jaleeyah in her final moments.
As the community mourns, a GoFundMe to help with burial costs has raised more than $12,000.
BREAKING: Boris and Sofia Gurman, 69 and 61, have been identified as the couple who heroically tried to stop the terrorist as he exited his car before the Chanukah massacre in Bondi Beach.
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) December 16, 2025
The couple attempted to prevent him from opening fire. After several minutes of struggle,… pic.twitter.com/DDAzq6k3EF
The report also referenced another recent tragedy: a deadly Bondi Beach attack in Sydney that officials later treated as terrorism, sparking public grief, tributes, and renewed concern about violence in public spaces.