The first weekend of August, a tragedy occurred in Portage Park. A nine year old girl, Sarabi Medina was playing outside her house in her scooter when she was shot to death.
Weekend of Tragedy
Sarabi Medina was riding her scooter Saturday night August 7 around her neighborhood but close to her house and playing like any other child. Sarabi’s Father stated that he had given her money to get some ice cream for the ice cream truck, for him and her. He has asked Sarabi to put her scooter up, however, she did not get to that since out of no where a man comes out of his apartment and complains that the children are making to much noise. He then shoots Sarabi in the blink of an eye. The father then tackled the man to the ground. During this fight, the gun went off shooting the attacker in the face. He was then taken to the hospital in critical condition.
“It just didn’t make sense. None of it made sense,” said Meghan Kelley, a neighbor who witnessed the incident. “I had seen people yelling and the father was in the street yelling – it was, it was just chaos.” Sarabi Medina’s death has impacted the community and all her loved ones. “Everybody in the community would just tell him they are just kids having fun playing, just let them be,” stated Kelley.
A Grieving Father
Sarabi’s father was a single dad doing everything he could to raise her as best as he could. He became a single dad because Sarabi Medina’s mother had previously died due to getting shot in 2018 when she was about four years of age. He took on the role of mother and father after that and tried his best to give his daughter a great life. But because of a bad choice from a selfish person, she was taken away from him forever. “It’s a child and it hurts … [the father] is in pain. He needs a lot of healing,” stated Andrew Holmes, a community activist that spoke to the girls father. Sarabi Medina’s family hosted a GoFundMe to help them with the funeral expenses.
Justice For Sarabi
Many people in the neighborhood have come forward to make Sarabi Medina a memoir outside of her house where she tragically lost her life. People have brought in teddy bears and sunflowers an laid them beside a tree near where she lost her life. Sarabi is remembered as a happy little girl who loved to play and go to school to learn. She was the sweetest girl one could ever meet and its saddening to everyone what happened to her. “With great sadness, we are devastated at the loss of another young life,” stated the Chicago School District.
“I am shocked and saddened to hear that an 8-year-old girl was fatally shot in the Portage Park community last night. My thoughts and prayers are with her family,” stated Alderman Ruth Cruz. This case still remains under investigation. People hope justice is served and the person responsible of killing an innocent little girl is held accountable.
In a statement Cruz said, “Once I have more information about how to support her family during this devastating time I will keep you informed. In the meantime, hug your loved ones a little tighter today.”
Written By Erika P Cano Peralta
Sources:
USA Today: Man fatally shoots 9-year-old Chicago girl, gunman shot in struggle over weapon, police say
NBC Chicago: Witnesses: Alleged gunman complained about noise before 9-year-old shot in Portage Park
Block Club Chicago: Neighbor Charged With Murder Of 9-Year-Old Girl After Reportedly Saying She Was Too Loud
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Chris Sampson Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Choo Yut Shing Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
