The death of 7-year-old Heaven Sutton shocked and angered more than just her family. Mayor Rahm Emanuel was more than angry at the tragedy. He was downright outraged.
"Where in your world experience do you take a shot at another adult next to a kid," he demanded of the unknown shooter during an unrelated press conference Thursday.
The child was fatally shot in the back Wednesday evening while selling candy with her mother in the front yard of their North Austin home.
Emanuel even bristled when one reporter brought up his gang strategy, telling reporters that the death was a matter of values rather than gang violence.
"If you think this is not about partnership, if you do not think this is about a set of values...Near a child? How dare you?"
At a separate event, police Supt. Garry McCarthy expressed confidence in the gang strategy.
"If anybody expects that we're going to throw on a switch and say, 'Okay, no more violence in the city of Chicago,' it's just not going to happen," he said.
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Sutton was in the 1700 block of North Luna at about 10:30 Wednesday night when shots rang out. The girl tried running inside, her mother said, but she was hit by a bullet and died about a half hour later.
Sutton's mother, Ashake Banks, said the soon-to-be second-grader told her on several occasions she wanted her family to move out of the violent neighborhood. Banks said Heaven was a sweet, smart girl.
McCarthy said police have "incredibly strong leads" about who the shooter may be.
"I anticipate a very, very, very, very quick turnaround and arrest on what we saw last night," he said.
