HEAVEN SUTTON - 7 yo / Accused: Jerrell Dorsey - Chicago IL

6:21 a.m. CDT, June 28, 2012

A young girl standing at a
snow cone stand in front of her West Side home was shot and killed by a
gunman firing into a crowd late Wednesday night, authorities said.
The girl, identified as Heaven Sutton, was shot in the chest just before
10:45 p.m. in the 1700 block of North Luna Avenue, according to Chicago police.
Heaven was sitting next to her mother at the family's
refreshment stand they'd opened two weeks ago when several shots rang
out on the block full of children playing.
"We're just sitting out here,
normal, she's sitting next to me and I just heard shooting," Heaven's
mother, Ashake Banks told WGN-TV hours after her daughter's death.
As Banks threw herself to the ground, she said her daughter ran for the
family home. Moments later, Banks said she discovered her daughter
unconscious inside a hallway.
"I'm lost for words. That was my pride and joy," Banks said.
Police said two men approached a group of people standing nearby and that one
of the men pulled a semi-automatic handgun and opened fire, striking the
girl in the chest and a 19-year-old man in the ankle, police said.
The girl was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood where
she was pronounced dead at 11:16 p.m., according to the Cook County
medical examiner's office.
Heaven is 20th person under the age of 17 to be fatally shot in the city this year, according to a Tribune crime analysis.The
19-year-old man was also taken to Loyola for a non-serious gunshot
wound to the ankle, said Officer Hector Alfaro, a police spokesman.
Authorities suspect that the girl was simply an innocent bystander rather than the
intended target, but Area North detectives were still in the early
stages of their investigation, a police source said.
Early reports indicated that a known gang member was seen fleeing the scene with a
pistol in hand. The second victim is aligned with a rival West Side
gang, but it was unclear whether he was the shooter's target, police said.
"She was a sweet bright-eyed kid," said Georgetta Spencer,
who identified herself as a relative. "(She had a) bright future ahead
of her, just a terrible loss. (It's) just what's happening to our kids."
Banks said she's opened the tented store selling candy and
snow cones as a happy distraction for the neighborhood children against gang violence.
No arrests have been made, police said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-child-shot-critically-wounded-in-north-austin-neighborhood-20120627,0,1359912.story

Man charged in the fatal shooting of 7-year-old girl in Austin

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE July 1, 2012 4:18AM
Updated: July 1, 2012 12:57PM

A 26-year-old gang member has been charged with the fatal shooting of 7-year-old Heaven Sutton.

Jerrell Dorsey, of the 1600 block of North Laramie Avenue, was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to police News Affairs.

Judge Adam D. Bourgeois denied Dorsey, 26, bail during a brief hearing Sunday.

The young girl was murdered after two men approached a group of people in the 1700 block of North Luna about 10:40 p.m. Wednesday and opened fire, police said. A 19-year-old man also was shot in the ankle.

His arrest on Saturday brought tears to the eyes of the girl’s mother.

“It made me feel a little bit better,” Ashake Banks said Saturday. Banks said she “was thankful that the Chicago Police Department [and] neighbors acted so quickly. ... I can’t stop thanking them.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/crime/13520379-418/man-charged-in-the-fatal-shooting-of-7-year-old-girl-in-austin.html

I tried several times to make comments on the articles on the web sites. Each time the liberal bias Chicago media sensored my comment and removed it. Hopefully that won't happen here.

As an Illinois resident I am outraged at the gang violence in Chicago. That city is a bad apple and gives Illinois a bad name. This year alone 20 little angels have been killed due to violence in Chicago. When will they wake up and stop the violence. They let gangs run around with guns but prevent legal owners from conceal-carry and make it almost impossible to have a gun in Chicago.

Too many children have died in Chicago due to gang violence.

My heart cries for this lost little angel and the others.

William

WillC: The gang violence of which you speak is also known to any of us living near major metro areas such as myself.
While Buffalo has not seen an uptick in the statistics of children being "inadvertently" involved, we certainly get our share of young adults being gunned down. Hardly a day goes by when there is not a report of some type of violent act occurring in the impoverished areas of our city. The Mayor recently fired up a task force that is trying to quell the violence and break up these hoodlums. We'll see if it has an impact.
Too many lives lost for inane reasons.

i have never had to deal with the gang activity like u guys, but the few incidents that have here r frightning just the same. i cant even act like i would know what to do or what to suggest b done. if law enforcement were allowed to go in hard and break these gangs up, i think we could possibly see a change for the better. they need to have their hands untied. every article that i have read about gang violence, it seems like law enforcement was suppose to go running when called, but gangs members escalated the violence-officers were expected to taze the, shoot them in the foot or some other nonsense all the while dodging bullets. to make matters worse, their own bosses feed into this nonsense and well they need more training, we'll investigate the incident, we will b calling in the gbi, etc. that shows reluctance to stand together and leaves the officers left hanging. they're destroying law enforcements credibility imho. i know everybody would hate me, but im all for going in hard and strong; not willy nilly. guys i need to hush-u both spoke my mind much more eloquently that i ever could.