A 5-month-old baby died in a shooting when a bullet hit her in the head while she was sitting in her father’s car Friday night, police said.
Baby Cecilia Thomas was in a car shortly after 6 p.m. when a second car approached and opened fire on the vehicle, giving her a fatal blow to the head, WLS-TV reported.
The owner of a business in the area said Cecilia’s father stopped the car when he heard his daughter crying.
She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
A 41-year-old man in a self-driving car was admitted to the University of Chicago Hospital with a gunshot wound to the eye area, police said. It is in good condition.
No suspects have been identified or arrested.
At least a dozen bereaved relatives gathered outside Comer Children’s Hospital.
A hospital nurse, who identified herself as Jackie, told the network, “Never in my 61 years of life have I seen anything like this.”
Bullet holes have been seen in the back of the car where the child was sitting. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP
He has lost two of his children due to armed violence and another son was paralyzed after being shot.
“You never know what it’s like to have a broken heart until you pass it,” he said.
The baby’s mother told an emergency service that her daughter was going home at the time of the shooting.
Chicago police have not identified any suspects or made any arrests in connection with the shooting. Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP
“This is a 5-month-old baby. Nine months brought that baby, she fed him,” Andrew Holmes told WLS-TV. “And it takes a damn fool to unload this weapon and take the baby’s life.”
According to Chicago Police Department statistics, there have been 282 murders and 1,148 shooting incidents so far this year, down 11% and 17% from the same period last year, respectively.