Chicago Heights Toddler Shooting Was Targeted Incident: Police

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — The shooting of a 3-year-old girl Tuesday was a "specific and targeted incident," Chicago Heights police said.

No further information was available Friday about the suspects, who they were aiming for, or whether the child was the target.

The toddler was shot just after 6 a.m. Tuesday near the 1600 block of School Street while her mother, Sally Solis, and her mother's friend were driving to a daycare to drop the girl off before they headed to work. The bullet, Solis said, hit her daughter's head but did not enter her brain.

Police said the girl has since been airlifted to University of Chicago Hospital, and that her condition has been upgraded to stable from critical.

The daycare's owner, Cheryl Anderson, is opening a trust fund for the toddler and her mother, and will be holding a benefit concert to support victims of gun violence. Anderson's family, too, had been victims of gun violence, she said.

Police said the incident remains under investigation.