At least 30 shots were fired in a McDonald’s drive-thru Sunday in Chicago, and the gunmen sped away — leaving behind a dead 7-year-old girl who was sitting in a car with her father waiting for food, according to authorities.
Bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds, Jaslyn Adams was rushed by a police officer to a nearby hospital, where doctors were unable to save her life.
Her 29-year-old father, Jontae Adams, remains hospitalized after being hit in the upper body, but he is expected to survive, reports said.
Trips to the McDonald’s on Chicago’s West Side were a ritual for the father and daughter that on their last outing turned tragic, relatives said.
According to CBS Chicago, Jontae Adams called his mother from the scene screaming, “They shot my baby!”
The unknown suspects, meanwhile, remain at large.
Police have not revealed whether there was a motive or other circumstances that may have led to the gunfire, but an employee who witnessed the incident said two people emerged from a gray car in the drive-thru and started shooting at Adams’ car, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
No other casualties were reported.
The deadly episode was one of several shootings in the Windy City over the weekend that left two dead, including the girl, and 22 injured overall.
At the McDonald’s, investigators found 30 shell casings around the vehicle. The windows on one side of the car had been blasted out, and bullet holes riddled its entire frame and back window.
Devastated family members gathered at the hospital where they spoke through tears about the death of Jaslyn, who was remembered as a happy-go-lucky little girl.
“It’s really emotional now for my family,” Jaslyn’s aunt, Tawny McMullen, told CBS Chicago. “She was just sweet and outgoing; really talkative; really lovable.”
McMullen decried the rampant gun violence that continues to plague Chicago year after year.
“Y’all, please put the guns down,” she said. “Our kids want to play. My kids can’t even go out the door because of this violence. Please put the guns down.”
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot spoke out about the shooting Sunday night on Twitter, saying she was “heartbroken and angered” and calling for an end to “the epidemic of gun violence.”
The investigation is continuing.
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