A nine-year-old girl was shot dead outside her Portage Park home in Chicago during a violent weekend that saw 27 people being shot in the city.
Serabi Medina, 8, was riding her scooter home from an ice cream truck around 9:40 pm when a neighbor from across the street, later identified as 43-year-old Michael Goodman, ran over and shot her in the head.
Goodman had previously complained about noise from neighborhood kids playing.
Serabi’s father, who witnessed the shooting, tackled the gunman, who was then shot above his left eye. The police recovered the weapon from the scene.
A neighbor said that Goodman had approached the child and her father, and complained that they were too loud.
The little girl was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. The gunman was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center and treated for injuries.
According to neighbors, the gunman had a reputation for complaining about children playing outside, causing others to avoid him. This incident has deeply affected the family as they had previously lost the girl’s mother in a shooting in 2019.
Serabi, described as “daddy’s little girl,” often rode around on her scooter in the neighborhood. The loss of her young life has left the community devastated.
After receiving medical services, Goodman was charged with first degree murder and is in custody.
Over the weekend, a total of 27 people were shot in 25 separate incidents, resulting in seven deaths.