The mother of a 7-year-old Chicago girl is demanding "justice" after her child was fatally stabbed over the weekend in what appears to have been an unprovoked street attack.
The mother of the young victim broke down in tears and collapsed to her knees during a community vigil on Sunday on a sidewalk in the South Side Chicago neighborhood where her daughter was attacked.
"My daughter's death should not be left like this," the mother, Estefany Hernandez, told ABC Chicago station WLS at Sunday's vigil. "There must be justice for my little girl. She wasn't bothering anyone."
The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim as 7-year-old Edi Mari Hernandez Chacon. Members of her family told WLS she was also known as Eddimar Paola Hernandez.
Bystanders who witnessed the deadly incident on Saturday morning detained the suspect, identified as 48-year-old Shavon Gayden, and held her at the scene until officers arrived, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Gayden was charged with first-degree murder and is scheduled to make her first court appearance on Monday, WLS reports.
WLS obtained court records showing Gayden's criminal record includes prior convictions for assault, including a 2023 attack on a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver for which she was sentenced to two years probation. According to the court records reviewed by WLS, she violated her probation in 2024 by assaulting two shelter workers and was sentence to court supervision.
Police have not commented on a possible motive for Saturday's stabbing, which remains under investigation.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a social media statement that he was "heartbroken" by the young girl's death.
"No family should ever have to experience the unimaginable pain of losing a child, and no child should ever have to fear for her life simply walking through her neighborhood," Johnson said. "We are praying for them and for everyone impacted by this horrifying tragedy."
The incident occurred just before noon local time on Saturday in the Chatham neighborhood on the city's South Side, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
Chicago Alderman Michelle Harris said at Sunday's community vigil that the suspect had allegedly gotten into an altercation with staff at a wireless store in the Chatham neighborhood just before the fatal stabbing, WLS reported.
The victim was walking southbound on the sidewalk when the suspect approached her, police said, "displayed a sharp object and stabbed the victim multiple times in the back."
The girl was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
"Bystanders who saw the stabbing occur detained the offender," according to the police statement.
Security video from the area appeared to show the young girl walking hand-in-hand with a woman that her family identified as her sister before the suspect stabbed the girl, WLS reported.
Additional video appeared to show bystanders rushing toward the scene to detain the suspect, who was outside the camera's view.