NEW ORLEANS — A high school senior celebrated her 17th birthday and was killed two days later.
Now, her family is pleading with whoever fired the fatal shot to come forward.
According to NOPD, the teen was leaving a party Saturday night when someone started shooting. Haven Lodge was hit and she died at the hospital.
"She was the girly girl. The ultimate girly girl," Lodge's sister, Reyan Brimmer said.
Brimmer describes her younger sister as a girl who loved fashion and shopping. She just started her senior year at The Net Charter High School.
"If nothing in this world, she wanted to graduate. Haven wanted to be a pharmacist," Brimmer said.
Saturday night, Lodge went to a high school jamboree and after party on Franklin Avenue.
"She was with her friends, just celebrating the beginning of football season," Brimmer said.
Lodge's dad, Howard Lodge, waited for her to get home.
"The night she went to the football game she hadn’t even had her birthday cake yet," he said. "She said she would cut it when she came back, but she never made it back.”
Just before 11:30 Saturday night, Lodge was leaving the after party when NOPD said someone started shooting. Lodge was found lying on a sidewalk. She died at the hospital.
"Haven had so much life, so much energy, so much potential that I can’t even believe I'm having to go to a funeral home at 2 o'clock to bury my little sister," Brimmer said. "I just would have never thought that this is where we would be."
Their family is still grieving from another loss.
"Within two years I lost a wife and a daughter," Lodge said. "Within two years."
Dorthea Lodge who was known for feeding the community from her front porch during the pandemic, died in November 2020.
"She's with her mother now. She's in Heaven with her mother," Lodge said.
"There will be glory after this," Brimmer said. "I need her story out there because there are people that need to learn from this. People that need to know guns aren’t everything, you don’t have to pick up a gun for everything."
"To the boy that did this... do the right thing. Do the right thing, turn yourself in," Lodge said.
"Enough is enough," Brimmer said. "It's enough. It's enough."
NOPD said Tuesday afternoon investigators haven't determined a motive yet. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 504-658-5300 or call Crimestoppers anonymously at 504-822-1111 and toll-free at 1-877-903-7867.
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