(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Dozens of loved ones gathered Tuesday evening on the Near North Side to remember Erica Gibson, a 12-year-old girl who was shot to death over the weekend in south suburban Hazel Crest.
Blue and purple balloons were released in front of the Cambridge Street row houses where much of the family lives. “She’s a dancing doll, and we’re going to continue to dance for her,” Erica’s aunt Samyra McDonald.
Erica’s closest cousin, Tykeena McDonald, 14, said the two were always dancing together and had been preparing for an upcoming competition.
Tykeena and many of Erica’s family members have expressed frustration about the circumstances of the shooting.
“She didn’t have to go like that,” Tykeena said. “We could have still been here at my house or at her house just dancing and having fun together — now that’s all taken away because of a tragic accident.”
Family members said Erica was staying at a friend’s house when the shooting occurred Saturday night and believe the gun’s owner needs to be held responsible.
Earlier in the day, prosecutors and police released conflicting statements about whether there will be any charges in the fatal weekend shooting.
Officers responded to a call of a reported gunshot victim in the 17600 block of Arlington Lane in Hazel Crest around 10 p.m. Saturday, according to police.
Erica, who was from the Gresham neighborhood in Chicago, had been shot in the head and was taken to South Suburban Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:53 p.m., police said.
An autopsy ruled her death a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.
An online fundraiser has been organized to help Erica’s family.
This is at least the second accidental shooting by a minor in the last week.
A 12-year-old boy was critically wounded Thursday night on the South Side when he was accidentally shot by another child.
The boy was hit in the chest inside a home in the 3500 block of South Rhodes shortly before 7 p.m., Chicago police said. He was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in critical condition, according to police and fire officials.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2021. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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