2 Questioned In Shooting Death Of 6-Year-Old Girl In Little Village
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A 6-year-old girl playing on her Little Village front porch was gunned down Saturday afternoon on the Southwest Side.
The girl -- identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office as 6-year-old Aliyah Shell -- was outside her home in the 3100 block of South Springfield Avenue when a pickup truck approached about 3:40 p.m. and one of the occupants began shooting, police said.
Neighbor Rey Navarro said Aliyah was playing on the porch of her home while her parents sat on the front steps. A small gray pickup truck stopped in the street and one person inside got out and fired four shots -- two of them hitting the little girl, he said.
The girl was stuck in the abdomen area and initially taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. She was declared dead at 5:24 p.m., the medical examiner's office said.
Another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said Aliyah attended nearby Gary Elementary School and only went outside with her mother.
"The little girl was beautiful," the neighbor said. "The family has been there 20 years or more. They were a very close family."
Navarro said the block is generally quiet, except for the occasional fight, and it was the first shooting he can remember in his 30 years at his residence.
Police said they took two males into custody, and were still questioning them Saturday night. A handgun was also recovered, police said.
It was not known who was the intended target, but sources said Area Central detectives are investigating the possibility the attack was gang-motivated.
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