LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A west Louisville neighborhood is in mourning after a girl was shot and killed Wednesday evening just one month before her 17th birthday.
Police say Tiffanie Floyd died Wednesday at University of Louisville Hospital after being shot near 4000 Grand Avenue. A neighbor said Floyd was walking up to her front door when five men pulled up in a car, got out and started shooting at her as she was unlocking the door.
"I was cutting the grass," said Willie Turner, who lives nearby. "I guess something startled her, and she looked back. And when she looked back, that's when they were shooting her. It was like 20-30 shots."
Floyd's grandfather, Reggie Collier, said he doesn't know anyone who would want to harm the teenager.
"She's my star," he said.
"Everybody loved Tiffanie," added Alyssa Leslie, Floyd's former basketball teammate. "To know that somebody out here wanted her gone just doesn't make sense."
A west Louisville neighborhood is in mourning after a girl was shot and killed Wednesday evening just one month before her 17th birthday. WDRB Photo.
Floyd and Leslie played together at Moore High School, where the duo helped the team win the district tournament in 2019. Floyd was awarded MVP after the game.
Floyd's former coach at Moore described her as a gifted player who was destined for greatness.
"She was a baller," Whitney Handley said. "Probably one of the best of her class. She could have easily gotten a DI scholarship and made it to the WNBA. Just raw talent. She didn't gloat. She didn't brag. She wasn't a ball hog, just an all-around player."
On and off the court, Leslie and Handley said Floyd was always laughing and just trying to make others smile.
"She was a straight clown, to be honest," Handley said. "She was a clown. She was the life of the party always, making everybody laugh, doing something silly and crazy."
"I would do anything to go back and play another game with her," Leslie added.
Turner said whenever she wasn't traveling for games, Floyd was practicing at home.
"Every time I saw her, she had either a bookbag or a basketball. So that's how I'm gonna remember her," Turner said. "When you wake up, you wish it was a bad dream. And right now, I do wish it was a bad dream."
Tiffanie Floyd. (Courtesy of Floyd's family)
"It makes me go harder as a coach to try to save these kids you know and keep them off the streets," Handley said.
Louisville Metro Police said there are no suspects in the case. Anyone can leave a tip anonymously at 502-574-5643.
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