In a tragic story of gun violence, a 6-month-old baby girl was shot five times in an apparent gang related killing.
A March 12 AP release says Jonylah Watkins died after suffering multiple gunshot wounds during the Monday afternoon attack in the South Side Chicago neighborhood of Woodlawn. She died Tuesday morning at Comer Children's Hospital, police said.
The father of the child, Jonathan Watkins, was also shot. He is listed in serious but stable condition, and is recovering at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Witnesses said that while Watkins was standing outside and changing his daughter’s diaper on the front seat of his minivan, he was approached by a lone attacker, who fired multiple shots into father and daughter.
At a Tuesday news conference, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Jonathan Watkins belongs to a gang and has a long criminal history. He was unsure whether Watkins would cooperate with police investigators.
"No child, certainly not an infant, should be a victim of gang violence," McCarthy said.
The attacker got into a blue van while a driver waited, then left the scene.
Police presence was stepped up immediately in the area to avoid any reprisal among rival gangs.
"He was obviously targeted," McCarthy said of Jonathan Watkins.
The family has been the victim of gun violence before. Jonylah’s mother, Judy Watkins, was shot in the knee while she was pregnant with Jonylah, according to the woman's mother, Mary Young.
“There's too much shooting over there," Young told reporters Monday. Speaking of her granddaughter, she added, "She's nothing but 6 months old.”
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