A 9-year-old boy has become one of the latest victims of shooting crimes in Chicago, Illinois, which has seen a spike in murders and shooting incidents from illegal gun use.
The boy was playing in a parking lot nearby his home when the fatal shooting occurred.
He was hit multiple times, including gunshots to the chest, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
First responders performed CPR before the boy was transported to Lurie Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The boy was not targeted in the shooting, police said, although it remains unclear what the motive of the perpetrator was. The shooter has not been identified and community activist Andrew Holmes has offered a $4,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Local media reported that detectives are still investigating the incident. Witnesses with any tips are asked to call in anonymously to Chicago police.
“When a 9 year old’s life is ended by a bullet, we must all be outraged,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote on Twitter after news of the death of the child on Saturday. “These deaths are not mere statistics. And prayers alone will not sooth a broken heart.”
“The fact of the matter is our gun problem is related to the fact that we have too many illegal guns on our street, 60 percent of which come from states outside of Illinois,” Lightfoot said. “We are being inundated with guns from states that have virtually no gun control, no background checks, no ban on assault weapons. That is hurting cities like Chicago.”
While shootings increased by 62 percent, police said that more than 5,600 illegal guns had been seized and 3,700 gun arrests made since the start of the year—a 5 percent increase from the same period last year, The Chicago Sun-Times reported.
