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 the West Side of Chicago, CBS Chicago reports. Late Sunday, police said the shooter or shooters were still at large.
It was part of another weekend full of wildfires in Chicago, in which at least two people died, including the girl, and 22 were injured, says CBS Chicago.
The station says a Chicago police officer took Jaslyn Adams to a hospital after she was found in a bullet-laden car in a McDonald’s drive-thru. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Investigators said Jaslyn was hit several times around her body. Family members 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 cases surrounded the vehicle after the shooting at 4:18 p.m., CBS Chicago says. The colored windows on one side were shot. There were also bullet holes in the frame and in the rear window.
It was unclear whether the shooting was aimed, but authorities did not say the public was in danger. The Chicago Sun-Times says a McDonald’s employee who asked not to be identified said two people got out of a gray car in the car and started firing at Adams’ car.
Family members talked about their loss to CBS Chicago at the hospital.
“It’s really exciting for my family now,” said Jaslyn’s aunt, Tawny McMullen. She had tears in her eyes when she remembered the 7-year-old as funny and cheerful.
“She was just sweet and lively; really talkative; really pretty,” McMullen said.
Jaslyn’s grandmother says Jontae Adams called her as soon as the shooting happened, saying, “They shot my baby!”
“Please put down your weapons,” McMullen said. “Our children want to play. My children can’t even go out the door because of this violence. Please put your guns down.”
Relatives said it was a normal way out for Jaslyn and her father to go to McDonalds.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke on Sunday night about the shooting on Twitter, saying she was “broken and angry” and called for an end to the “epidemic of gun violence.”