An 11-year-old girl was killed and a 19-year-old man was injured after a drive-by shooting in Syracuse on Monday night, according to Syracuse Police.

Syracuse City School officials confirmed Tuesday that Brexialee Torres-Ortiz was a student in the district.

Authorities said it happened on the 400 block of Oakwood Avenue around 7:45 p.m. Monday as  Brexialee was walking home from the Food King with a gallon of milk. The shooting happened a few hundred feet from Dr. King Elementary School and about a mile from Syracuse University.

City officials tell Spectrum News 1 that 15 rounds were fired, with the 19-year-old as the presumed target, and Brexialee was hit in the crossfire as she was walking home from a cornerstore on errand with a gallon of milk.

Brexialee died at Upstate University Hospital, and the 19-year-old, who was shot in the leg, is expected to survive.

In a press conference Tuesday, Syracuse City Police Chief Joe Cecile said while his department does have a desciption of the vehicle involved in the drive-by shooting, they have yet to identify a suspect in the shooting. Cecile appealed to the community to help the department find those responsible.

"She is a true victim; it's a true tragedy. It will certainly help to have Onondaga County Sheriff and the New York State troopers with us on this case," said Cecile. "If you heard something from someone about who the shooter might be please tell us. I would like to see some tips come in. I don't care how they come in. We don't track those numbers, we don't track your information, it just gives us a lead. We hope the community is more forthcoming with an incident involving an innocent 11-year-old."

New York State Police have offered to help the city solve the crime, according to Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh Tuesday. 

"We regularly benefit from the collaboration with New York State Police, but what we saw happen last night touches a nerve in a way that other crimes don't, the loss of a child," said Walsh. "It shakes everyone." 

SCSD Superintendent Anthony Davis also released a statement Tuesday, saying in part, “We send our deepest sympathy to this child’s family. This is yet another instance where a senseless act of violence in our community has taken the life of a child. In these instances, so many lives are ruined: the victims that are wounded or killed, the perpetrator that ends up in jail or retaliated against, the families that suffer great loss, the community that has to endure the madness of it all. There is no excuse for the violence we are experiencing as a community, and we cannot become numb to it."

A vigil was held Tuesday night to commemorate the memory of Brexialee, where neighbors told Spectrum News 1 they will always remember her infectious smile. 

Brexialee was a sixth grader at Syracuse STEM at Blodgett. Her principal says she was class president, getting votes from all of her classmates. She was a high honors student and loved to dance. At the vigil, hugs were shared and tears shed.

One of her teachers and a cousin shared personal memories of Brexialee.  

“Not just her positivity but how she was able to really transfer that energy onto others. There were many times where a child or one of her friends might be in a situation that some of us probably couldn’t even handle that well or didn’t know how to handle and she would be the first one to be able to have a conversation with them, make them feel comfortable," said Ronald Cortina, Brexialee's 5th grade math teacher.

“The last memory that I really have of her was when she graduated and I watched her put a big smile on her face across the stage going into middle school. She was always happy, she always had a smile on her face, she was always willing to make everybody else smile," said Samyrie Hernandez, Brexialee’s cousin.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call Syracuse Police at 315-442-5222.