GhLinks Media
A South Side shooting left a teenage girl dead and a man injured on Friday night, Chicago police said.
Police said the shooting happened in the Avalon Park neighborhood’s 1200-block of East 83rd Street around 11 p.m.
A male suspect approached a 16-year-old girl and a 35-year-old man, took out a gun and fired shots, police said.
Officers responded to Jackson Park Hospital, where the teen, shot in the throat, died from her injuries. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office later identified her as Meeyah Smith.
The man, shot in the thigh, is listed in good condition.
Some neighborhood residents walked the track at Avalon Park on Saturday, unaware of gun violence just hours earlier.
“I’m always shocked things that are happening in this area,” resident James Riley said. “I’m getting used to it at the same time, but it is heartbreaking.”
Street pastor and anti-violence activist Donovan Price said he’s concerned about what feels like an uptick in gun violence.
“Sometimes it’s about plain evil as long as people have guns, they’re going to use them whenever they get angry,” Price said. It’s a tool of convenience of angry convenience.”
As of Saturday afternoon, at least 44 people were shot across the city over the holiday weekend, resulting in at least six homicides.
The violence is a concern to some Chicagoans fearful about their safety.
“I have two sons and I’m very concerned about them,” Avalon Park resident Shana Riley said. “I have two brothers, one that was murdered and one that was shot, so it is affecting me personally.”
There is no one in custody for the deadly Avalon Park shooting, and Area Two detectives are investigating.
Police did not immediately provide further information about the shooting.
