Man Accused of Shooting 9-Year-Old Girl Dead After Complaining of Noise

A little girl was shot in the head as she played in the street by a neighbor who said she was "being too loud," according to reports.

Alleged gunman Michael Goodman, 43, was charged with first-degree murder on Monday after he was accused of shooting the 9-year-old in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, on Saturday.

The child's father tackled Goodman, whose gun discharged again in the scuffle. Goodman was shot just above the left eye as the pair struggled over the weapon, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "He ran over there, football-tackled this guy," community activist Andrew Holmes told the Associated Press.

The incident comes amid a spate of gun crime across the nation that has sparked a fierce debate about gun control, left politicians unable to answer how to address the problem, and led to multiple countries issuing warnings to their citizens who are considering traveling to the United States.

The girl was pronounced dead by medics at the Stroger Hospital, shortly after the incident which happened at around 9:40 p.m. on the 3500 block of North Long Avenue. Her death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head and has been classified as a homicide following an autopsy.

Goodman was rushed to the Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was initially said to be in critical condition. He was arrested by police officers later that same night and will appear in bond court on Tuesday.

Newsweek reached out to the Chicago Police Department via email on Tuesday for comment.

A neighbor and friend of the bereaved family, Megan Kelley, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Goodman had previously complained that children playing in the street were making too much noise.

"When he came out before he shot her, he had said something about them being too loud," Kelley said. "It just didn't make sense. None of it made sense. Everybody in the community would just tell him, 'They are just kids having fun playing, just let them be.'"

Kelley described the child as an "absolutely amazing and beautiful little girl." She was close to her dad after her mother was also killed in gun violence back in 2018, Kelley said.

A makeshift memorial has sprung up to honor the girl at the scene of her death, with well-wishers leaving stuffed animals at flowers at the base of a tree. "With great sadness, we are devastated at the loss of another young life," Chicago Public Schools said in a statement issued to the AP.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up in the family's name, seeking help with the funeral expenses. As of early Tuesday morning, $1,275 had been raised of the $5,000 target.

"She was a beautiful little girl who adored her dog and her father more than anything," a statement on the website says. "She was only 9 years old, she had her whole life ahead of her. We appreciate anything you can give to help with the funeral expenses. Anything will help. We thank everything for all the outpour of love and support we have received over the last few days. This has been a hard time for my family but we are leaning on each other for strength."

The incident in Chicago comes almost a year after a toddler was shot dead by a stranger during a road rage incident in the city. Three-year-old Mateo Zastro was murdered by a driver who followed his mother's car and opened fire at the vehicle in October 2022.

This summer has proved deadly in the city, after a bloody June in which a Father's Day celebration ended in a mass shooting and a 14-year-old shot and killed a man who attacked his mom at a hot dog stand.