Hanover Park girl shot in Chicago in critical but stable condition
A 7-year-old girl who was shot and critically injured early Wednesday in a house on Chicago's South Side is from Hanover Park, according to a crisis responder working with her family.
"They're still shaken," said Andrew Holmes, the crisis responder from Chicago Survivors, an agency that provides crime victim services to family members. "They're still by the bedside talking to the doctor about what the situation is."
The girl's condition was updated to critical but stable Thursday morning, according to Chicago police.
Holmes said the girl has been conscious for the most part and responding a bit to treatment Thursday afternoon. She had already had one surgery and the family was waiting to find out whether she might soon require a second.
Chicago police said the girl was wounded by stray gunfire at about 1:30 a.m. Wednesday that came from someone on the sidewalk outside the house she was in on the 3500 block of South Washtenaw Avenue in the Brighton Park neighborhood.
The girl, who was there for a family gathering and was watching TV at the time, suffered abdominal wounds and was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, authorities said.
A 38-year-old man was the intended target of the gunfire and suffered less serious wounds to his leg, police said. He walked into St. Anthony's Hospital in Chicago but was expected to be transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital.
Holmes said that, contrary to an earlier report, the injured man had been outside the house and had no connection to the wounded girl's family.
Police said Thursday morning that they were continuing to investigate where the man was when he was shot. They described him as a felon but didn't elaborate on his criminal conviction, other than to say it was gun-related.
In a statement released Wednesday through the hospital, the girl's relatives said they were grateful for the outpouring of love and respect, but requested privacy and declined interview requests.
Neither shooting victim was identified.
No one was in custody Thursday, but Holmes said he is personally offering a reward of $1,000 for information leading to a conviction. To qualify, tips should be made to the U TELL US tip line by calling (800) 883-5587, he said.
Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig said Thursday that he had not received any direct confirmation that the girl and her family were from his village. He added that there had not been any communication between Chicago police and Hanover Park. But he said he would pray for the girl's recovery and her family.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted about the shooting on Wednesday.
"Praying for the young girl struck by a bullet in Brighton Park," she wrote. "To the family, CPD will do everything possible to bring the perpetrator to justice. As a City, you have our love and support."
Lightfoot urged anyone with information about the shooting to share it confidentially at cpdtip.com.