7-year-old Fatally Shot In Chicago As Gun Violence Rocks 3 Major US Cities

• More than 250 children have been shot and 32 killed in Chicago this year. (ABC) Shootings in Chicago have increased by 11% this year compared to 2020 and 63% compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to an August 3 report by police. (CNN)

Three major US cities struggling to curb a surge in gun violence collectively had at least 64 people wounded and 12 dead, including a 7-year-old girl shot dead in Chicago, following multiple shootings this weekend, according to police.

The shootings in New York, Philadelphia and Chicago came as all three cities have seen sharp increases in the numbers of shootings in 2021.

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An unknown suspect shot two young girls, killing one and leaving the other “fighting for her life,” as they sat in a parked vehicle on a Chicago street Sunday, according to State police.

The suspect fired at the 7-year-old and 6-year-old at approximately 2:50 p.m. while they were in a car on the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue, Chicago Police said.

The 6-year-old girl sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and the right armpit. The 7-year-old was shot in the chest and the torso. Both were transported to Loyola University Medical Center, where the 7-year-old was pronounced dead. The 6-year-old is “fighting for her life,” police said.

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At a news conference Sunday evening, Commander Brian McDermott, chief of operations – patrol for Chicago Police Department, said the girls were sisters and that their mother had been putting them in the backseat of the car when they were shot.

He said police did not think the girls or their mother were intended targets of the shooting and asked for the public’s help in finding their shooter or shooters.

“To say that I am sad and outraged would be an understatement,” he said. “Too many young people have lost their lives in senseless gun violence in the city of Chicago.”

As of Sunday evening, 42 people had been shot in Chicago over the weekend, four of them fatally, police said.

Shootings in Chicago have increased by 11% this year compared to 2020 and 63% compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to an August 3 report by police.

“We need to stop this,” Philadelphia resident and retired Marine Jamal Johnson told ABC station WPVI in Philadelphia.

The weekend gun violence came as Johnson and a group of supporters are marching to Washington D.C. to draw attention to the escalating number of shootings and killings in their city. Johnson calls his action the “Stop Killing us March” and hopes to meet with members of the Congressional Black Caucus when he reaches the US Capitol later this month.

“I would personally like them to encourage (Philadelphia) Mayor (Jim) Kenney to declare a state of emergency in Philadelphia due to gun violence,” Johnson said. “Most of all to save the lives of our children.”

Kenney said during a news conference last month that the city allocated over $150 million in its fiscal year 2022 budget to address gun violence. He said he has spoken to President Joe Biden “on the urgent need for new and enhanced approaches” to combat the problem.

Philadelphia police search for gunman who shot 3 people in Strawberry Mansion.