Activist: Slain Girl's Family Knows Who Shot Her
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Chicago activist on Tuesday was calling on a South Side family to tell police what they know about a gunman who opened fire on their home, killing a 6-year-old girl.
Arianna Gibson was shot and killed on Aug. 7 as she slept on a couch at her grandmother's house in Englewood. Her funeral was held Tuesday night at Freedom Temple Church, 1459 W. 74th St.
As CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports, a survivor of the shooting claims she has no idea who the killer is. But community activist Andrew Holmes believes someone in the home where Gibson was killed does know who fired the shots.
Holmes says the community is still in shock over her death.
"The community is still in shock that you had a person and terrorized this family," Holmes said. "We are working with the community to get answers and trying to get the family to most of all, the person who was shot to identify the shooter and to tell the truth."
He said he just hopes someone will come forward and identify the shooter.
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"This baby is going to be buried and no one is in custody. It's been too long. They know the answers," said Holmes.
The girl was shot to death early on Aug. 7 as she slept on a couch in her grandmother's home in the 7400 block of South Sangamon in Englewood.
The next day would have been the first day of school for the first grader at Libby Elementary School.
Detectives questioned a teenager in Arianna's death for nearly two days, but released him without charges.
Two teens – a girl and boy, each 17 years old – were also injured when someone fired shots through the window of the brick bungalow at about 6:15 a.m. on Aug, 7. Police have said the 17-year-old boy was the intended target.
The girl, Stacey Jones, said she doesn't know who shot her.
"If I knew who, like, did all the shooting, yes, I would say something," Jones said Tuesday night.
Jones, a high school senior, said she's an innocent victim of the same shooting responsible for Arianna's funeral.
Holmes said he's spoken with people on the block where Arianna was killed, about goings on at her grandmother's home.
"A killer is still on the loose to kill at will," Holmes said. "I'm not gonna sugar coat it: someone there knows who shot this baby. As long as you hold out and this child killer is out here, some way, form or fashion, you need to be charged with murder, too."
Arianna's aunt and Stacey's mother, Linda Chatman, has been watching her daughter, still hurt by the shooting – the bullet shattered a bone in her leg and instilled fear in her.
"It's hard for me to, like, concentrate on one thing now without being so scared," Jones said.
Asked if she wants to live in Englewood anymore, she said, "No, I don't want to be here right now."
"It changed life a lot, because I used to, like, go outside and do a lot of things with my friends. But now I can't walk, so I just gotta stay in the house," Jones added.
Tuesday night, though, she was at Arianna's funeral.
"This baby is laid to rest. She does not have another day," Holmes said.
Holmes also had a few words for the gunman, saying that person should think of Arianna and have enough conscience to speak up. He insisted that someone in the home that night knew the gunman.
A $1,000 dollar reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest. If you have any information, you're urged to call Chicago Police or 1-800-U TELL US.
