CHICAGO: A 7-year-old girl was fatally shot and her 6-year-old sister was seriously wounded in Chicago when someone opened fire as the siblings sat in a parked car, police said.
The 7-year-old was shot in the chest and torso Sunday afternoon and was pronounced dead at Loyola University Medical Center, police said.
She was identified as Serenity Broughton by the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Her 6-year-old sister was struck in the chest and right armpit and was "fighting for her life" at the hospital, Chicago's police Chief of Patrol Brian McDermott said Sunday evening.
The Belmont Central neighbourhood where the girls were shot on Chicago's northwest side is a "gang conflict area," he said, adding that it's not believed the girls or their mother were targeted.
The girls were among victims of weekend gun violence in Chicago that left 55 people shot, including five fatally, from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The shootings come amid efforts to curb rising gun violence in the city and around the U.S.
Following Sunday's shooting, officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert and attempted first aid on the wounded girls as they awaited the arrival of paramedics.
The shooting happened as the girls' mother was putting the two youngsters in the back seat of a car, McDermott said.
McDermott said police were trying to determine whether there were multiple shooters and whether they were on foot or in a vehicle.
He urged anyone with information on the shooting to contact police.