2-Year-Old Majestee Hale Shot, Killed Inside Harvey Home
by Jermont Terry, Mugo Odigwe and Asal Rezaei
HARVEY, Ill. (CBS) -- A two-year-old girl was shot and killed Thursday night in south suburban Harvey.
Around 7:15 p.m., Harvey police were called to 153rd Street and Lexington Avenue after the girl had been shot in the head.
The girl's father carried her in his arms as she was rushed to Ingalls Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was later identified as 2-year-old Majestee Hale.
"This is a tragedy. We are heartbroken. The city of Harvey is definitely reaching out, and we will continue to support the family in anyway that we can. As a father, there's nothing worse than hearing anything like this," said Harvey city administrator Timothy Williams.
Harvey police have not said exactly what happened, but Friday morning said the shooting was "contained to the house," and there is no danger to the public.
"Because it's an active investigation, there are some specifics that I don't want to give up," Harvey Police Chief John Moseley said.
The chief refused to say if police are actively searching for any suspects or persons of interest in the shooting, or how many people were inside the house at the time, although police earlier confirmed there were other children at home at the time.
An entire section of the street was taped off as investigators spent the night interviewing family members.
A pastor, who lives next door, said he heard several gunshots and rushed outside.
"I see a baby on the floor in a pool of blood and well as the mom, yelling out for assistance and help," Pastor Jonathan Johnson told CBS 2. "It was a very devastating thing to actually see."
Johnson said some family members were taken to hospital on Friday for trauma counseling.
Meantime, Williams said the city has appealed to the Justice Department, asking for a federal grant to hire additional officers, in an effort to double their current police force. However, city officials wouldn't say how many officers they have now.
Still, the goal is to make sure there are enough officers covering other parts of the city when tragedies like this happen.
"When our officers are going to the scene, there's other areas in the city ... that need support as well. So we're happy to get support from Cook County, from Illinois State Police, and from the neighboring communities, and that's what the south suburbs do, but we certainly want to fortify and support our own force here," Williams said.
As for the investigation into Majestee's death, police said they will provide an update when they have more information.