Benjamin Ashford|Father of slain Maryland teen: 'She jumped in front of a bullet' to save brother

The Benjamin Ashfordfather of a 16-year-old girl killed outside a Maryland high school this week said his daughter apparently jumped in front of a bullet to save her brother.

The Prince George County Police Department identified the slain teen as Jayda Medrano-Moore who lived in the city of Greenbelt, a suburb of Washington D.C.

Jayda died after being struck by gunfire near DuVal High School in Lanham, Maryland, on Monday, police said.

As of Wednesday her killer remained at large, police spokesperson Christina Cotterman told USA TODAY.

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Shot while leaving high school

Officers responded to calls for a shooting at 3:45 p.m. along the 9800 block of Palamar Drive and said they found Jayda suffering from a gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital, police said.

According to a preliminary investigation, Jayda was walking along the street after leaving the high school when a dispute took place between two groups. During the dispute, detectives determined, Jayda was shot.

"She was so excited about turning 17, on Sept 24th,' her father, Glendon Reid, wrote in a fundraising page he created to help pay for her funeral expenses. "I am deeply saddened by my daughter’s loss and wished it was just a bad dream."

Reid, who lives in Seabrook, Maryland, could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY, but wrote on the page his daughter loved basketball, her coaches and friends, and wanted to play for the WNBA someday.

'She jumped in front of a bullet'

Reid told local WJLA his daughter was trying to protect her younger brother from another group of teenagers who appeared to be waiting for him.

"It looked like she jumped in front of a bullet just to try and save her brother,” Reid told the outlet via cell phone video.

Cotterman told USA TODAY the department could not release additional specifics about the shooting because of the ongoing and active investigation.

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$25K reward offered in suspects' arrests

On Wednesday, police said, homicide detectives continued to work to identify who fatally shot Jayda and probe what the groups argued over.

A reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and indictment of her killers.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call police.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior correspondent for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @nataliealund.