Prior To July 4th Weekend, Violence Targets Young Children In Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Amid calls for peace heading into a historically dangerous holiday weekend in Chicago, violence is already hitting the families of the three kids shot in the last 24 hours.
One month old Terriana Smith was shot in the head during the mass shooting in Englewood Thursday night. As CBS 2's Tara Molina reports, her uncle is a community leader in the neighborhood. A previously planned a peace event where that shooting happened went on as scheduled on Friday.
The organizers here said that even when these issues hit close to home, they have to keep fighting for a better, safer neighborhood.
Community leaders joined in a circle near 66th Street and Halsted on Friday, where just hours earlier, seven people were shot, including little Terriana.
Her uncle, Charles McKenzie, said the bullet didn't pierce her skull. She had a successful surgery this morning and is breathing on her own.
"Everything is looking good," McKenzie said.
He's the one who organized Friday's community event, ahead of the weekend. It was already on the books before his niece was shot, and he chose to keep the plan in place for the sake of the community.
"I think that's what people do. When something happens, they call off the event. That's not gonna happen. We're gonna do what we do. Show people there's something good in Englewood," McKenzie said.
Terriana is the third child caught in gunfire since early Thursday in Chicago. That's when an 8-year-old girl was shot in the arm while inside her house in Roseland. The two women on the porch were also shot--one died.
And Thursday afternoon, in Chatham, a 9-year-old girl was shot in the head.
Darryl Smith, who leads the Englewood Political Task Force, said "violence is up, shootings are up"--despite the city's claims that crime is under control in the city.
"It's gonna be a rough weekend. We got three more days to go."
Police continue to investigate the shootings, and no suspects are in custody.