6-year old girl shot and killed on her porch in Chicago

Aliyah Shell, age 6

6-year old Aliyah Shell was playing on her front porch in Little Village neighborhood of Chicago when shots rang out.  One of those shots hit her and killed her.

From the article:

Neighbor Rey Navarro said Aliyah was playing on the porch while her parents sat on the front steps. A small gray pickup truck stopped in the street and one person inside got out and fired four shots — two of them hitting the little girl, he said.

The girl was stuck in the abdomen area and initially taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. She was declared dead at 5:24 p.m., the medical examiner’s office said.

Another neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said Aliyah attended nearby Gary Elementary School and only went outside with her mother.

“The little girl was beautiful,” the neighbor said. “The family has been there 20 years or more. They were a very close family.”

Navarro said the block is generally quiet, except for the occasional fight, and it was the first shooting he can remember in his 30 years there.

Police said they took two males into custody and were still questioning them Saturday night. A handgun was also recovered, police said.

It was not known who was the intended target, but sources said Area Central detectives are investigating the possibility the attack was gang-motivated.

From another article:

A man and a teenage boy were being questioned this evening at Area Central headquarters, police said. They are both said to be affiliated with the Latin Kings street gang, police said.

This afternoon following the shooting, police could be seen recovering a light-colored garment bearing the image of Minnie Mouse from the front sidewalk of the home, near a small splotch of blood.
....
Clara Navarro, who described the girl as polite and lovable, gasped and burst into tears as the word of her death circulated.

"Our little angel, our little angel," Navarro said, her hand cupped over her mouth. "I guess the Lord needed her."

Another neighbor said she has known the girl since she was a baby and she would visit the family’s house often.

"Every time she's come over, she'd eat the bananas," said the girl, who did not want to be identified because of her age. "She was really sweet, she would be smiling. She was a good girl. It wasn't her fault."

Cristina Romo, principal at nearby McCormick Elementary School, said the shooting leaves a family and an entire community devastated.

"You wonder, do you want to walk down the sidewalk with your child to get an ice cream cone?" Romo said. "This could be your own 6-year-old sister, your own child. This is an innocent child that didn't deserve to have this happen."

UPDATE (3/20/12): Two teen boys, ages 18 and 16, have been arrested for the shooting.

Bullets don't know when to stop.