$11,000 Reward For Shooter of 6-Month-Old Girl

Police continue searching for person who shot and killed Jonylah Watkins

Chicago Police continue searching for the gunman who shot and killed a 6-month-old girl while her father changed her diaper in a van.

Jonylah Watkins died Tuesday morning after she sustained gunshots a day earlier to the thigh, shoulder, lung, liver and bowels. Shots rang out at about 12:45 p.m. Monday on the 6500 block of South Maryland Avenue in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood.

Police said her father, Jonathan Watkins, was the intended target. He was hit in the buttocks and right side of his face and was in stable condition Tuesday.

Records show Jonathan Watkins has gang ties and an extensive criminal record.

"This is another tragedy, because no child, certainly not an infant, should be a victim of gun violence," Supt. Garry McCarthy said.

The community is offering an $11,000 reward for the capture of Jonylah's shooter. A family spokesman said Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose will help pay for the child's funeral.

"The City of Chicago should be outraged that in our city, a 6-month-old baby could be shot and killed," Pastor Corey Brooks, the family's spokesman said. "It's horrific."

McCarthy said police are pursuing several angles and urge anyone with information to call Area Central Detectives at 312-747-8380.

"For us not to speak out is just as horrific," Brooks said. "So if there ever was a time where we all have to speak out, it's a day like today."

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