Aug. 16 (UPI) — Authorities in Chicago said a 7-year-old girl was killed and her 6-year-old sister was left “fighting for her life” after an unknown gunman opened fire on the parked car they were sitting in over the weekend.
Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott told reporters during a press conference that the shooting happened at around 2:50 p.m. Sunday in the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue.
“To say that I am sad and outraged would be an understatement,” he said. “I can only hope that every resident of this city is as angry and outraged as I am at this time. Too many people have lost their lives to senseless gun violence in the city of Chicago.”
McDermott said they don’t believe the sisters nor their mother were the intended target and that they were unsure if there was one shooter or several and whether the weapons or weapon was fired while the suspect was on foot or in a moving vehicle.
The girls, he said, were placed in the back seat of the vehicle by their mother when they were shot.
They were transported to Loyola Hospital were the 7-year-old died from her injuries and the 6-year-old was “fighting for her life,” he said, adding they suffered from “multiple gunshot wounds.”
McDermott urged those of the public with any information about the shooting to contact the authorities.
“We owe it to the families to bring these violent offenders who have no respect for human life to justice,” he said.
The shooting occurred amid an uptick in violent crime in the city.
Over the weekend at least six people were killed and another 44 others were injured in shootings in the city, 5 Chicago reported.
According the police department’s crime statistics, before the weekend there were 478 homicides compared to 468 the year prior, representing a 2% increase. However, it represents a 57% increase over the same period in 2019.
