An eight-year-old girl was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting Monday night in Chicago’s Canaryville neighborhood.
According to CBS Local, the incident occurred as the child, who has been identified as Dajore Wilson, was riding in a blue Subaru SUV with her mother and two other individuals. The family was on Union Avenue at 47th Street, when another car fired several shots into the vehicle, hitting three of the four occupants.
“I stand before you saddened and angered that another child has lost their life to senseless gun violence in the city of Chicago,” Chicago Police Chief of Operations Brian McDermott said on Monday.
Police were called to the scene just before 6 pm for reports of shots fired. Upon arrival, officials found the victims’ car with shattered windows and bullet holes.
McDermott said that police learned that the victims’ car had been parked on Union Ave, with the suspects directly behind them. When the light turned green, someone inside the second vehicle opened fire, before making a U-turn and fleeing south.
Meanwhile, the victims’ SUV continued on Union Ave before crashing into a tree. After the shooting, neighbors quickly sprung into action to help those in need.
“I heard 17 gunshots from a block away, come over here to see a little kid laying on the floor,” resident David Johnson said. “It’s tragedy and horrible.”
“Everybody was running towards the little girl that was laying on the ground – trying to help her, trying to help her, trying to help everybody else that was shot in the vehicle,” Johnson added.
According to CBS, Wilson was shot in the back and taken to a local hospital where she later died. A 30-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man were also taken to the hospital in serious condition with shots to the back, while another 30-year-old woman was transported in good condition, as she was injured when the car hit the tree.
