A 7-year-old girl was fatally stabbed in broad daylight on a Chicago street after an unknown woman allegedly approached her from behind and attacked her.
Edimari Hernandez Chacon was walking in the South Side’s Chatham neighborhood when the woman reportedly ran up behind her and stabbed her several times in the back with a sharp object shortly before noon, WLS reported.
Surveillance footage obtained by NBC Chicago shows Edimari holding hands with another woman moments before the attack. Afterward, witnesses can be seen rushing to help the injured child.
Edimari was taken to a nearby children’s hospital, where she was pronounced dead Saturday afternoon.
Bystanders detained the alleged attacker at the scene until police arrived.
The woman, whose identity has not been released, was later taken into police custody after being treated at a local hospital for injuries she suffered while being restrained.
Authorities have not said whether a motive has been identified or what may have led to the stabbing.
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The killing left Chatham residents shocked and angry.
“I just don’t know what this world is coming to … for a 7-year-old girl like that to be getting stabbed,” resident Denesta Freeman told WLS.
“I never thought it would come to this point. I never did. These kids nowadays are not getting to live their life,” Freeman added.
“As a mom, I feel hurt! Because my daughter is the same age. I feel hurt! I feel like it was my child,” another woman said. She asked that her name not be published.
Local officials also reacted to the fatal attack. Ald. Michelle Harris said she was “deeply saddened by the senseless stabbing” in her neighborhood.
Harris praised the “bystanders who quickly intervened—helping to detain the suspect and get assistance on the way,” saying their response “may have prevented further harm.”
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
