A Chicago man on Saturday reportedly shot and killed a child riding a scooter because she’d been too loud.
The suspect fatally shot the eight-year-old girl, identified as Serabi Medina, as she rode her scooter in Portage Park, according to the Chicago Sun Times. The suspect was the girl’s neighbor and allegedly complained she was being too loud before shooting her.
8-year-old Chicago girl fatally shot by man upset with kids making noise, witnesses sayhttps://t.co/58cBGuEfwT
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“Yesterday when he came out, before he shot her he had said something about them being too loud,” Megan Kelley, a witness and friend of the victim’s family, told the outlet. “Just little kids playing, he would come out just yelling about the noise. It just didn’t make sense, none of it made sense. … Everybody in the community would just tell him they are just kids having fun playing, just let them be.”
A group of people were standing on the sidewalk near the child when the suspect approached her at 9:40 p.m. in the 3500 block of North Long Avenue, the outlet reported, citing Chicago police. (RELATED: REPORT: Teenager Charged With Homicide After Shooting 9-Year-Old Relative)
The victim’s father attacked the gunman after witnessing his daughter’s murder, according to a police report cited by the Chicago Sun Times. The suspect sustained a gunshot over his left eye as the two fought.
The young girl was declared dead at Stroger Hospital, the outlet reported, citing the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The accused gunman, who allegedly lives in an apartment building across the street from the park, was in critical condition when he was transported to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to the Sun Times.
Police have recovered the gun from the scene, the outlet reported. Charges were yet to be filed as of Sunday night.
Detectives blocked off the apartment where the suspect lived as they conducted their investigation. Fresh blood was still visible on the sidewalk after the shooting, according to the Sun Times.
The victim’s mother was killed in a shooting in 2019, Kelley told the outlet.
“She was just an absolutely amazing and beautiful little girl. She had her whole life ahead of her,” Kelley said about Serabi.