CHICAGO (AP) — A 4-year-old boy from Alabama, who died Sunday after he was struck by stray gunfire inside a west-side Chicago home, was one of five people killed by gun violence in the city during the Labor Day holiday.
Another 53 people were wounded during the weekend, including another seven children aged 17 and younger.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said 4-year-old Mychal Moultry died Sunday night at Comer Children’s Hospital, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Police Superintendent David Brown pleaded with residents Monday to assist law enforcement officials after the bloody weekend.
“This is beyond trusting police. This is about the safety of our babies,” he said.
A family friend was braiding Mychal Moultry’s hair in her home when he was struck twice in the head by rounds that tore through the front window about 9 p.m. Friday, police said.
No arrests have been made, police said Monday.
The boy’s mother, Angela Gregg, told the Chicago Tribune on Monday that she had no idea about a motive, “but we just know our baby is not supposed to lose his life at 4 years old, and somebody needs to step up and say something.
“The police don’t know anything yet because no one is talking. No one is coming forward,” she said. “People aren’t answering their doors, and the people that are answering their doors are saying they don’t know anything. … Somebody in Chicago knows something.”
Mychal, who arrived in Chicago with his mother earlier Friday from their home in Decatur, Alabama, is the second 4-year-old to die as a result of gunfire in Chicago this year. He’s the second 4-year-old shot within a week. Gregg said she was not with the boy during the incident. The boy’s father was nearby and held his son until paramedics arrived, according to a community activist.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot added her own entreaty Monday, expressing frustration that often, people in the neighborhoods where incidents occur know the people involved but are reluctant to cooperated.
“I understand the fear that’s out there but I’m just calling upon people in these neighborhoods…,” Lightfoot said. “You’ve got to have your faith overcome your fear, you’ve got to step up.”
Seven other juveniles were shot between Friday evening and Monday morning. They included a 12-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl shot near a back-to-school event on Saturday, a 13-year-old boy hanging out in a basement with friends on Saturday night when someone fired through a window and a 14-year-old boy shot while walking to a car with his father Sunday morning.
The other three victims were boys aged 15, 16 and 17.
