A 7-year-old girl killed outside a July 4th party at her grandmother’s Chicago home has been identified as Natalia Wallace, according to reports.
The youngster was playing with other children on the sidewalk in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood around 7 p.m. Saturday when police said three men jumped out of a white car and opened fire on party-goers before speeding off, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.
The girl was shot in the forehead and was later pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital, the outlet said.
“On a day when families should be celebrating, having a good time, spending time together, a 7-year-old girl was taken from us,” Chicago Police Department Chief of Operations Fred Waller told the Sun-Times.
“There were kids riding by on bicycles,” Waller said. “Enjoying the Fourth of July, as they should have been.”
According to her father, little Natalia was a funny and outspoken girl who loved to be outdoors. He said she loved to pose for pictures and was quick to give a kiss on the cheek, he told the outlet.
“For her life to be cut down for no reason, it’s ridiculous,” Nathan Wallace said outside the hospital.
Police said a 32-year-old man at the scene was wounded by the barrage of gunfire and was listed in fair condition at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Investigators are now reviewing video from the scene of the shooting.
It’s the third weekend in a row that a child under 10 has been shot in the Second City, and the shooting came amid an eruption of gunplay in the city over the July 4th weekend.
Police said 67 people were shot and 13 were killed by gunfire as of Sunday, including Natalia and a 14-year-old boy. The shootings were among dozens reported throughout the US over the holiday weekend, with nearly two dozen reported dead.