- A 7-year-old girl out trick-or-treating in a bumblebee costume was critically injured Thursday night after being struck by apparent stray gunfire, police said.
- The shooting occurred early Halloween evening as the girl was walking with her family and other trick-or-treaters along a street in the Little Village neighborhood.
- Police said a group of males were chasing another male along the street when someone in the group fired at the intended victim.
- The girl, who was shot in the upper chest area, was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.
- A 31-year-old man was shot in the left hand and taken to a nearby hospital in good condition.
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A 7-year-old girl out trick-or-treating in a bumblebee costume was critically injured Thursday night after being struck by apparent stray gunfire, police said.
The girl, who was shot in the upper chest area, was taken to Stroger Hospital in life-threatening condition, according to Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. A 31-year-old man was shot in the left hand and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition, The New York Times and Chicago Tribune reported.
The shooting occurred early Halloween evening as the girl was walking with her family and other trick-or-treaters along a street in the Little Village neighborhood.
In a tweet, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the girl was believed to be an unintended victim. He said members of the community were assisting investigators "but we need more."
"We heard the shots ... four shots, and I went outside," said Lali Lara, who works in a nearby cellphone store, told the Chicago Tribune. "The girl's father was screaming, 'My little girl's been shot.'"
Police said a group of at least three males were chasing the 31-year-old man along the street when someone in the group fired at the intended victim. Authorities told The Times that the man who was shot was not with the girl.
Police say they have no description of the gunman, and no one was in custody.
"Just a 7-year-old child out here, with her family, trick-or-treating, just like anybody else," Sgt. Rocco Alioto of the Chicago Police Department said during a news conference. "It shouldn't happen anywhere. It shouldn't happen in this city."
"This is unacceptable," he continued. "A 7-year-old girl that was trick-or-treating with her family had to get shot because a group of guys want to shoot at another male."
Police said there is a surveillance camera near the crime scene from which video can be obtained.
Langford told The Times he had never treated a child for gunshot wounds on Halloween in all of his 20 years on the job.
"It gets to the first responders, because they have kids, too," he told The Times. "It's a tragic situation, but it's not a common situation in Chicago."
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