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Aug 23, 2023

Chicago girl, 8, shot by man upset with kids making noise

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An 8-year-old girl riding a scooter outside her home in Chicago was shot dead Saturday by an aggravated neighbor — amid a violent weekend where 27 people were shot in the Windy City.

The girl, identified as Serabi Medina, was on her scooter heading home from an ice cream truck at about 9:40 p.m. when the gunman ran over from his apartment across the street and shot her in the head, WGNTV reported.

The gunman, who had complained about neighborhood kids making noise, was tackled by the girl’s father, who witnessed the shooting, according to a witness report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

The gunman was shot above his left eye and his weapon was recovered from the scene.

Police said the girl was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital.

The gunman was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center in critical condition. No charges have been filed.

Megan Kelley, a neighbor of Serabi’s family, told the Sun-Times that the man had a reputation for complaining about kids playing outside on the block — and that neighbors would try to avoid him.

“Just little kids playing, he would come out just yelling about the noise. It just didn’t make sense, none of it made sense,” Kelley said. “Everybody in the community would just tell him they are just kids having fun playing, just let them be.”

“You kind of just stayed away from him,” Kelley said, adding that the family had been affected by gun violence before — the girl’s mother was killed in a shooting in 2019.

Stuffed animals and sunflowers were placed surrounding a tree near the scene of the shooting.

Another neighbor, James, described the 8-year-old as “daddy’s little girl” who “was always riding around out here back and forth,” on her scooter.

“She didn’t deserve to go,” he added.

Serabi was set to start fourth grade at Reinberg Elementary School this fall.

In a statement, the Chicago school district said, “With great sadness, we are devastated at the loss of another young life.”

“The thoughts and condolences of the entire Chicago Public Schools (CPS) family are with all those impacted by this tragedy.”

Chicago cops said that a total of 27 people were shot in 25 separate incidents between Friday evening and Sunday night. The weekend shootings left a total of seven people dead.

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