The Chicago mom who lost her 5-month-old baby girl in a drive-by shooting last Friday, June 24, pleads for justice and the arrest of the suspects.
Juanita Harris, the baby's mother, said that her daughter, Cecilia Thomas, was hit by one bullet to the head. Cecilia was sitting at the back of her father's car when a second vehicle slowly approached them and opened fire, per WLS-TV.
Witnesses said Cecilia's father pulled over because he heard his daughter crying. The baby was then rushed to the Comer Children's Hospital, where she was declared dead.
"Turn yourself in"
No suspects have yet to be arrested for what happened to Cecilia. However, a 41-year-old man was said to have checked himself into another hospital because he had a gunshot wound in his eye. The police are still trying to determine if this was related to the drive-by shooting.
Relatives of the victim have gathered at the Comer Children's Hospital, where one staff said she had never seen a victim like Cecilia in her 61 years. The baby is now the youngest victim of a drive-by shooting in Chicago.
Cecilia was supposed to be going home to her mother on that day. In a pained voice, Harris publicly appealed to the shooters to come forward and do the right thing.
"You need to turn yourself in, you know you had that gun," the mother said.
Parents Shanee Edwards-Keller and Pete Keller, local activists, also appealed to the shooters. The Kellers said that they feel for Harris because they also have a 5-month-old baby and cannot imagine the thought of losing him in such a violent way.
Shanee said that the persons responsible should examine the damage they've caused in the lives of the victims. She warned that the shooters would also lose their lives because "karma is a monster," per the Chicago SunTimes.
Chicago shooting incidents over the holidays
Meanwhile, the Chicago Police Department confirmed that there were 61 shooting incidents with ten fatalities within the holiday week, as the nation prepared to hold 4th of July celebrations. One incident involved an 11-year-old girl who was just outside the street around noontime when a vehicle approached and fired with abandon. The child was hit in the leg and is now recovering at the Comers Children's Hospital.
Two teenagers were also hurt in a shooting incident 10 minutes after the 11-year-old girl was wounded. The 16-year-old boy was shot in the arm and leg while a bullet grazed the 17-year-old girl's back. They were treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Investigations are still ongoing about these incidents.
Summer holiday gun violence often has an uptick in Chicago. However, the police noticed a decline in the past two years, per the Chicago Tribune. Superintendent David Brown said that they have been posting police officers in areas where crime rates and gun violence are higher, but they admitted there are some challenges over the holidays because other officers are on breaks as well.
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