According to the Chicago Police Department, the 7-year-old was fatally shot on Sunday at around 2:50 p.m. local time when officers received reports of shots fired in the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue.
During a press conference on Sunday, Officer Brian McDermott, Chief of Operations for the Chicago Police Department, said that when officers arrived at the scene they found “two young victims, ages 6 and 7, with multiple gunshot wounds to the body.” The two victims were found in a parked car on the street, police said.
According to the Chicago Police Department, the 7-year-old sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and torso while the 6-year-old victim suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and armpit.
The officers rendered aid to the two young victims until the Chicago Fire Department arrived. The two victims were then transported to the Loyola Medical Center, where the 7-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries.
“The 6-year-old is fighting for her life at this time,” McDermott said.
The Chicago Police Department did not identify the two female victims by name but were able to confirm that they were sisters. McDermott also noted in the press conference that police do not believe that the two girls were the intended target in the shooting.
“At this time I’d like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of these two precious young girls,” McDermott said during the press conference. “To say that I am sad and outraged would be an understatement. I can only hope that every resident of this city is as angry, saddened and outraged as I am at this time.”
Chicago Police Department Area 5 detectives are continuing to investigate the situation and police are asking the public for help in identifying the suspects involved in the incident.
In addition to the two young girls that were shot, at least 50 others were wounded by gunfire over the weekend in Chicago, according to WLS-TV.
Over the past several months, Chicago has seen a continued rise in violent crime and shooting incidents.
According to data from the Chicago Police Department, the previous week from August 5 to August 1 yielded 96 reported shooting incidents. Over the last 28 days, the data shows that there have been at least 402 shooting incidents, which is a 19 percent increase from the same time period in 2020.
Newsweek reached out to the Chicago Police Department for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
