Girl, 6, Shot, Seriously Hurt In West Englewood
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 6-year-old girl was shot and seriously wounded while she sat on the porch Tuesday afternoon West Englewood.
The shooting happened in the 6000 block of South Paulina about 1 p.m., according to Chicago Police. Three vehicles, including a white SUV, turned into the area and targeted a group on the block. Witnesses reported dozens of shell casings on the street.
Tacarra Morgan was shot in the stomach and was taken in critical/serious condition to Comer Children's Hospital, police said. She underwent surgery and was in recovery as of 4:30 p.m., police said.
"This is a child, like any other, who should be able to play in the front of her house on a summer day," said Deputy Chief John Escalante. "We are dedicating the resources we can to find [the shooters]."
"Obviously we're looking at this as possibly and probably gang-related but still working on the identifiers of what gangs were involved," he said.
Peter Nickeas of the Chicago Tribune reported it was the 21st child under the age of 13 shot this year.
According to Anthony Guglielmi, in the past 28 days, a total of 8 children under the age of 10 have been shot.
The aftermath of the shooting was streamed live on Facebook. The video shows a man holding the young girl in the street as an ambulance arrives on the scene.
The girl's grandfather, Arthur Morris, told the Sun-Times that he didn't hear the shooting. He had just stepped inside to retrieve a wrench from the basement so he could fix his grandson's bike.
But he did hear a commotion as he came back upstairs.
"Everyone was saying, 'Get down. Get down. They're shooting,' " recalled Morris, who disregarded the warning and rushed outside — but the block was quiet again.
Moments later, with bullet holes in the front window and family members still seeking cover on the ground, Tacarra spoke up.
"She said, 'I've been shot' and pulled up her blouse and her intestines were coming out," Morris said.
"I wish it had been me in place of my 6-year-old granddaughter," Morris said.
