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Sarabi Medina was fatally shot in a Chicago neighborhood on Saturday, August 5, 2023. Police say the suspect has been taken into custody. (Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez)
CHICAGO (WGN) — A 9-year-old girl is dead after she was shot in the head in Chicago Saturday night by a man who was reportedly upset with the noise in the neighborhood.
According to the Chicago Police Department, 43-year-old Michael Goodman has been charged with first-degree murder in the girl’s death.
Goodman allegedly approached a group in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood around 9:40 p.m. and shot the girl in the head.
The girl, identified as Sarabi Medina, had just bought ice cream from an ice cream truck and was riding her scooter home when the shooting happened, according to authorities.
Medina was transported to Stroger Hospital in critical condition where she was later pronounced dead.
After the shooting, Goodman was tackled by Sarabi’s father and shot during a struggle, according to a police report. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition.
“He ran over there, football-tackled [Goodman],” said community activist Andrew Holmes, who met with Sarabi’s father.
A weapon was recovered on the scene and police are continuing their investigation.
Goodman was taken into custody and is due in court on Tuesday.
Megan Kelley, a neighbor, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Goodman had confronted Sarabi and her father about noise, saying they were being too loud.
“It just didn’t make sense. None of it made sense,” Kelley told the Chicago Sun-Times. “Everybody in the community would just tell him they are just kids having fun playing. Just let them be.”
She told the outlet Sarabi’s mother was killed in a shooting in 2018.
“She was a young, vibrant little girl,” family member Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez told Nexstar’s WGN. “There was no reason for her to die. There was no reason to shoot anyone to begin with, but why a child?”
Sarabi was going to start 4th grade at Reinberg Elementary School this fall.
“With great sadness, we are devastated at the loss of another young life,” Chicago Public Schools said in a statement Monday. “The thoughts and condolences of the entire Chicago Public Schools (CPS) family are with all those impacted by this tragedy.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
