A shooting in a Chicago neighborhood killed a 7-year-old boy Tuesday as authorities searched for the gunman.
Police officers arrived at the scene in the 2200 block of West Jackson Boulevard and found the boy with a gunshot wound to his chest, authorities said. They attempted to save his life and rushed him to the hospital in a police squad car.
"Life was snuffed out before he even had the opportunity to live it the way it needed to be lived," Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said at the scene. "But this is unacceptable. We are losing our children, and we really need to think about the gun violence that's going on in this city. And we all need to step up to try to fight this gun violence to save our children."
The boy had left his home and was going to visit a neighbor next door, police said. When he stepped on a sidewalk, shots rang out from "a really good distance," Snelling said.
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The gunfire was random, he said.
As of Tuesday, 17 juveniles have died from gun violence in the city this year, Snelling said. As of Sunday, the Chicago Police Department reported 227 murders, down from 268 in the same time frame last year.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson, who was at the scene, said the gun violence happening in Chicago is directly correlated with disinvestment in neighborhoods.
"The tragedies that we are experiencing right now are the direct results from decades of disinvestment," he said. "There's a direct correlation from disinvestment, poverty and violence."
"This is not just simply a response to a tragedy. This is about our response to policies that have created conditions that have made it impossible for families to feel comfortable raising their children in Chicago," he added.
On Monday, Johnson announced the establishment of a reparations task force to increase investment in neighborhoods allegedly impacted by systemic racism.
