'I'm disgusted': 7-year-old trick-or-treater 'clings to life' after being shot by 'cowards,' says superintendent

The young girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

November 1, 2019, 2:43 PM

A 7-year-old girl was clinging to life Friday morning after she was shot by "cowards" while trick-or-treating with her family on Halloween, said Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.

The shooting occurred on a packed street in the Little Village neighborhood on Chicago's West Side, where dozens of kids dressed in costumes were trick-or-treating for Halloween. The 7-year-old was dressed as a bumblebee, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

"Obviously the little girl wasn't the target. We think two gangs were having a dispute and one of them shot at the other," Johnson told reporters Friday morning. "She just was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

PHOTO: Trick-or-treaters walk past a crime scene in the 3700 block of West 26th Street in Chicago, where a 7-year-old girl was shot while trick-or-treating on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019.
Trick-or-treaters walk past a crime scene in the 3700 block of West 26th Street in Chicago, where a 7-year-old girl was shot while trick-or-treating on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019. The girl, dressed as a ladybug, was taken the hospital in critical condition with a chest wound.
John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Police say the child was shot in the lower neck area and is in critical condition, but has been stabilized, Johnson said.

A man who police believe was the likely target was shot in the hand during the incident, Johnson said.

PHOTO: A police supervisor and officer stand inside a cellphone store in the 3700 block of West 26th Street in Chicago, where a 7-year-old girl who was shot while trick-or-treating was brought inside until transported, on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019.
A police supervisor and officer stand inside a cellphone store in the 3700 block of West 26th Street in Chicago, where a 7-year-old girl who was shot while trick-or-treating was brought inside until transported, on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019.
John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The superintendent called the shooting "reprehensible."

"Those involved don't deserve to be in our city," he said. "I'm disgusted but committed to doing everything we can to find the cowards that would engage in a gun battle during the early evening hours while children are trick or treating."

"We heard the shots," 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.’”

One person of interest, juvenile, is in custody and being interrogated, police said Friday afternoon. Authorities are still working to identify the others who may be involved, police said.

"Detectives have been working through the night to follow leads and chase down every bit of video available" along that street, said Johnson.

A suspect was wearing a Jason Halloween mask, Johnson said.

Johnson said phones were "ringing off the hook" Thursday night as community members passed along information.

"There's no place for offenders to hide when all eyes are searching," Johnson said. "I am asking anyone who knows anything to stand up and do the right thing."

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