A 7-year-old girl is dead and her 29-year-old father was hospitalized after they were shot in a McDonald’s drive-through on Chicago’s West Side, CBS Chicago reports. Late Sunday, police said the shooter or shooters were still running free.
It was part of another gunfire weekend in Chicago in which at least two people died, including the little girl, and 22 were injured, says CBS Chicago.
The agency says a Chicago police officer rushed Jaslyn Adams to a hospital after she was found in a bullet-ridden car in a drive-thru of a McDonald’s. She was pronounced dead in the hospital.
Investigators said Jaslyn had been hit around her body multiple times. Relatives said her father, Jontae Adams, 29, was also hit.
Chicago police said he was shot in the upper body. He was taken to the same hospital as his daughter and was reported in serious condition and is expected to survive.
At least 30 shells surrounded the vehicle after the shooting at 4:18 p.m., says CBS Chicago. The tinted windows on one side had blown out. There were also bullet holes in the door frame and rear window.
It was not clear whether the shooting was the target, but authorities have not said the public is in danger. The Chicago Sun-Times says a McDonald’s employee who asked not to be identified said two people in the drive-thru got out of a gray car and started firing at Adams’s car.
Family members spoke about their loss with CBS Chicago in the hospital.
“It’s really emotional for my family now,” said Jaslyn’s aunt, Tawny McMullen. She looked with tears in her eyes as she remembered the 7-year-old as funny and cheerful.
“She was just sweet and outgoing; very talkative; very sweet,” said McMullen.
Jaslyn’s grandmother says Jontae Adams called her as soon as the shooting happened and said, “They shot my baby!”
“All of you, please put your guns down,” McMullen said. ‘Our children want to play. My children cannot even leave their homes because of this violence. Please put down your weapons. “
Relatives said it was a normal outing for Jaslyn and her father to go to McDonalds.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke about the shooting on Twitter Sunday evening, saying she was “heartbroken and angry” and called for an end to “the epidemic of gun violence.”