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20 bullets: 7 year old Chicago girl shot dead outside 4th of July party

Christopher Koulouris: About author bio at bottom of article.
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Natalia Wallace Chicago
Pictured, Natalia Wallace Chicago 7 year old girl shot dead on July 4th.
Natalia Wallace Chicago
Pictured, Natalia Wallace Chicago 7 year old girl shot dead on July 4th. Image via social media.

Natalia Wallace Chicago 7 year old girl shot dead outside of grandmother’s Austin home after 3 men got of car and fired off 20 gun rounds before driving off.

Here we go again. A 7-year-old girl killed outside a July 4th party at her grandmother’s Chicago home has been identified as Natalia Wallace, according to reports.

The youngster was playing with other children on the sidewalk in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood around 7 p.m. Saturday when police said three men got out of a white car and opened fire on party-goers before speeding off, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday.

The girl was shot in the forehead and was later pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital.

‘On a day when families should be celebrating, having a good time, spending time together, a 7-year-old girl was taken from us,’ Chicago Police Department Chief of Operations Fred Waller told the Sun-Times.

‘There were kids riding by on bicycles,’ Waller said. ‘Enjoying the Fourth of July, as they should have been.’

Three men got out of a vehicle and fired at least 20 rounds

Natalia was visiting her grandmother, Waller said. She was outside with others during a family get-together. Three men got out of a white vehicle about 50 feet away from where the girl and her family were gathered and fired at least 20 rounds at them.

According to Natalia’s father, the ‘funny and outspoken’ girl loved to be outdoors. He said she loved to pose for pictures and was quick to give a kiss on the cheek, he told the Chicago Sun Times.

‘For her life to be cut down for no reason, it’s ridiculous,’ Nathan Wallace said outside the hospital.

An official at Crown Community Academy of Fine Arts said Natalia attended the school was due to enter second grade there this fall reports the Chicago Tribune.

Who was the intended victim?

The school released a statement, attributed to Natalia’s first grade teacher:

‘Natalia was a very quiet and sweet little girl. She completed every assignment during class, got along with all of her peers, and colored the most precious pictures ever given to me. Natalia never hesitated to ask for clarity when needed. Sometimes, her quiet spirit gave her the strength to lead the reading lessons within her group, and she soared when it came to doing math. During e-learning, Natalia was always present and participating. At the end of each class session, she would type in the chat box, ‘I Love You.‘’

Police said a 32-year-old man at the scene was wounded by the barrage of gunfire and was listed in fair condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. It remained unclear if he or someone else had been the intended target ‘hit’.

Investigators are now reviewing video from the scene of the shooting. No arrests have been made.

Ongoing black on black violence

The 7 year old girl’s death marks the third weekend in a row that a child under 10 has been shot in the predominantly African American community of Second City, along with the stray bullet death of a 13 year old girl last month. The weekend shooting came amid an eruption of gunplay in the city over the July 4th weekend in disparate black on black crime. 

Police said 67 people were shot and 13 were killed by gunfire as of Sunday, including Natalia and a 14-year-old boy. The shootings were among dozens reported throughout the US over the holiday weekend, with nearly two dozen reported dead.

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