x
Breaking News
More () »

Teen Charged in Shooting That Left 7-Year-Old Trick-or-Treater in Critical Condition

(CNN) — A 15-year-old male has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a 7-year-old girl who was out trick-or-treating on Halloween, accordi...
chicago shooting

(CNN) — A 15-year-old male has been charged with attempted murder in the shooting of a 7-year-old girl who was out trick-or-treating on Halloween, according to police.

The teen is scheduled to appear in court Saturday to face two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery in the shooting, which also left a man wounded.

The girl, dressed as a bumble bee, was trick-or-treating with her family around 5:30 p.m. Thursday in the Little Village neighborhood when a group of men chasing another man began shooting, Chicago police Sgt. Rocco Alioto told reporters.

The child was shot in the lower neck, police said, and is in critical condition at Stroger Hospital.

A 31-year-old man also was shot in the incident. He was in stable condition Thursday night after being transported to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left hand, police said. There is no relationship between the victims, police said.

The child is “fighting for her life,” Alioto said Thursday.

“This is unacceptable. It’s a 7-year-old girl that’s trick-or-treating with her family out here and happens to get shot because a group of guys want to shoot at another male while there is a street full of kids trick-or-treating,” Alioto said.

Police believe the shooting was a result of a dispute between two gangs and multiple offenders were involved, but police do not have an exact number, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said. The shooter wore a “Jason” mask from the “Friday the 13th” movie, he said.

Detectives recovered a firearm that may be connected to the shooting, Chicago police chief communications officer Anthony Guglielmi said via Twitter.

Johnson called the shooting “reprehensible” and those behind it “cowards” during a news conference Friday announcing historic lows in the number of homicides and shootings during October in the city.

“None of that matters if parents that live in certain communities can’t even take their children out on Halloween,” he said.

To read the full CNN News article, click here.

Before You Leave, Check This Out