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6-month-old shot, dies: In Chicago’s South Side, a 6-month-old girl was shot and died a day later.
A 6-month-old infant girl died after being shot five times in Chicago’s South Side.
The girl, Jonylah Watkins, was shot on Monday while the father was changing her diapers in his family’s van, and she was later rushed to the hospital. She succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday, according to NBC Chicago. Her father, Jonathan Watkins, is in stable condition.
“The city of Chicago should be outraged that a 6-month-old baby could be shot and killed in our city,” Chicago Pastor Corey Brooks, a family spokesman, told the network. “It’s horrific.”
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Police are currently searching through the South Side neighborhood of Woodlawn, and they are looking for security footage that might help them identify potential suspects, reported WBEZ radio. Witnesses said the suspect fled in a blue van.
“We have another tragedy in the city of Chicago,” Brooks added, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy told the newspaper that detectives are looking into “several angles,” including the possibility that the shooting might be gang-related.
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“It appears he’s the intended victim, exclusively the father,” he said, adding that it is unclear if Watkins is cooperating with authorities or not. “We don’t have one individual who’s stepping up to help us,” he said.
Witnesses told NBC they heard at least 10 gunshots.
“I just heard like a lot of shots and skid marks, so that’s when I ran to the corner,” Patricia McGowan, who lives nearby, told the network. “There is always gunshots and crime in the neighborhood, always drug activity in the neighborhood. … It’s heartbreaking. We’re looking for a place to move out immediately because that could have easily been me coming from the bus.”
Mary Young, the grandmother of the slain girl, said that “there’s too much shooting over there,” according to The Associated Press.
“She’s nothing but 6 months old. How could anybody--what kind of heart?” she asked.
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