Over Memorial day weekend the unthinkable has happened once again in our city. An innocent 5-year-old girl’s life was cut short around 3:30 a.m. while sitting in a parked vehicle on the city’s near West Side. Reign Ware was sitting inside the car in the 200 block of North Campbell Avenue when shots were fired. She was hit in the upper abdomen and rushed to Stroger hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
According to news outlets, a 24-year-old man was shot twice in his left thigh and was also taken to Stroger hospital but in good condition. Neighbors were distraught to hear the news. Over 60 evidence markers were in place where the incident took place. Some of them made statements such as, “That child shouldn’t have been out here till 3 o’clock in the morning,” said one neighbor. “And you know this ain’t no safe haven. Three o’clock in the morning in a car? Come on now.”
Another concerned neighbor stated “I heard one shot. Then 30, 40 more shots,” the neighbor said. “Stupid man! How are you going to go through life saying,” killed a baby?” This shooting only touches the surface of violence this Memorial Day weekend so far. According to Chicago Police data, at least 25 people have been shot since Friday night, and five are dead, including that 5-year-old girl.
Last year, over the holiday weekend, 47 people were wounded, and nine died. In 2022, 50 people were shot, and nine of them were killed. Area detectives are investigating and no arrests have been made.
