Chicago Violence

Witnesses: Alleged gunman complained about noise before 8-year-old shot in Portage Park

After the shooting, the gunman was tackled by the girl's father and shot during a struggle, according to a police report. He was taken to a hospital

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An 8-year-old Chicago girl riding a scooter was fatally shot in the head by a man who was upset over noise, witnesses said.

"It just didn’t make sense. None of it made sense,” a neighbor, Megan Kelley, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Everybody in the community would just tell him they are just kids having fun playing. Just let them be.”

The shooting happened Saturday night in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood. Police were at the suspect's apartment building Sunday, interviewing people and collecting evidence.

"Before he shot her, he had said something about them being too loud,” Kelley said.

A neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous for safety concerns, told NBC Chicago he saw the child riding her scooter moments before the shooting.

"I had seen people yelling and the father was in the street yelling - it was, it was just chaos," the neighbor said.

After the shooting, the gunman was tackled by the girl's father and shot during a struggle, according to a police report. He was taken to a hospital.

"[The father] ran all the way over there, football tackled this guy and that weapon discharged," community activist and crisis responder Andrew Holmes said.

Stuffed animals and sunflowers were placed at the base of a tree near the shooting scene.

Holmes said he spoke to the child's father, who said she "just loved to go to school."

“With great sadness, we are devastated at the loss of another young life," the Chicago school district said in a statement.

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