CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A 7-year-old girl was killed and her 6-year-old sister is fighting for her life Monday morning after a shooting Sunday afternoon in the Belmont Central neighborhood.
The girls were identified by their grandmother as Serenity and Aubrey Broughton.
According to Chicago police, 7-year-old Serenity Broughton and her sister, 6-year-old Aubrey, were sitting in a parked vehicle near the corner of Grand and Merrimac avenues around 2:50 p.m. Sunday when shots rang out.
The girls’ paternal grandmother, Regina Broughton, told CBS 2 they had been coming from their maternal grandmother’s house when they were shot.
“She was getting in a car coming from her grandma’s house, and her life was ended at that moment. I mean, that’s just senseless. And you know, someone should come forth and say something. Someone should come forth and help the family, and help us – because it didn’t have to happen to her. It shouldn’t have happened to her,” Broughton said. “She was innocent. She was 7. Her birthday was coming up in November.”
She added that when the shots rang out, her son – the girl’s father – was on the driver’s side of the car, while their mother had just finished bucking Aubrey in.
“She heard what she thought was fireworks and at that point, the little, youngest one was holding herself and fell on the seat,” Broughton said. “The other sister was already in her car seat buttoned up, and my son said he grabbed her – and she was just lifeless.”
Serenity, 7, was shot in the chest and torso and taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Aubrey, 6, was struck in the chest and armpit and was taken to the same hospital, where she was stabilized, police said.
Area Five detectives are investigating.
Broughton told CBS 2 she was supposed to take the girls to South Carolina on Tuesday so they could visit Myrtle Beach. She said Serenity had been looking forward to her very first plane ride and now she will never experience it.
“She had dreams of just gong to the airport. She just wanted to see the airport; wanted to go up on a plane, and I arranged that for her – and didn’t even get to see it,” Broughton said.
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(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2021. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)