Vigil held for infant, man shot in Little Village: 'We cannot let our children normalize death'
A prayer vigil was held Sunday for a 3-month-old boy and man who were critically wounded in a shooting in Little Village on Saturday.
A small group from the community gathered in the shadow of the Little Village Arch in the 3100 block of West 26th Street, just a few feet away from the parking lot where the boy and the man were shot.
The group prayed for peace, for the survival of the victims and for more resources for residents in the neighborhood.
"Our children are traumatized, they've been traumatized for generations," said Baltazar Enriquez of the Little Village Community Council, which organized the vigil. "We have to do something about it, and today we're going to do
something about it."
The infant and the 21-year-old man were in a car just after 4:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Little Village Plaza in the 3100 block of West 26th Street when a car pulled up, two people got out and started shooting, Chicago police said.
The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the chest, and the man was shot multiple times throughout his body, police said. They were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition.
No arrests have been reported in the shooting.
The bustling parking lot serves several businesses, including the smaller Discount Mall, Walgreens, Ross, a health clinic and restaurants. Street vendors set up stalls on the sidewalk next to the parking lot.
One street vendor who was working Saturday afternoon said she heard "at least 15" gunshots before she saw people scurrying away from the area.
Runners taking part in a run for peace had passed through the area about 30 minutes before the shooting, Little Village Community Council organizers said.
Enriquez said he wanted to make it clear that the incident does not reflect the people of Little Village.
"This is a bustling community, a strong community, we're a resilient people, and this does not represent our community," he said. "We're a hardworking community that fights to have the best and be one of the best."
Enriquez said there needs to be more mental health services in the neighborhood for children who are "traumatized" by the incidents of gun violence. "We cannot let our children normalize death," he said.
Chela Garcia, head organizer for the Little Village Community Council and a Little Village resident, echoed those sentiments, saying that trauma and gun violence "won't allow them to heal" because when residents walk by sites of violent attacks they relive the trauma.
She thinks the city should provide therapy services for witnesses of violent incidents, not just victims.
Sandra Trevino, a community activist who also lives in Little Village, said police and prosecutors should also put more resources toward solving slayings and holding criminals accountable.
"With accountability there is change, and right now you have people that are committing these shootings and they see there is no consequences for their actions because the clearance rates for CPD have been so abysmal," she said.
Enriquez asked anyone in the community with information to come forward.
"This is a 3-month-old baby, if you stay quiet you're just as guilty as the guy that pulled the trigger," he said.