Gary Toddler Dies A Day After She Was Shot In The Head
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 2-year-old girl from Gary, Indiana, died Wednesday morning, a day after she was shot in the head, and detectives are questioning two people about how it happened.
Around 6:50 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to a 911 call from the 1700 block of Polk Street, and found a girl who had suffered a gunshot wound to the head while inside her home.
She was rushed to Methodist Hospitals Northlake, and later airlifted to Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead Wednesday morning. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office identified the toddler as Jayla Miller.
It was unclear if the girl accidentally shot herself, if someone else shot her either intentionally, or if she was caught in some sort of crossfire or struck by a stray bullet.
"So many babies be running around here in this neighborhood unattended. I don't know. I don't know. It's just terrible," neighbor Marethia Burnett said. "There's no explanation for it. It really isn't. I just feel for the parents. I know the mother's heartbroken, wondering how did this happen. So we just have to pray."
Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady said the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office and Lake County Prosecutor's Office were assisting in the investigation.
Police said two adults were taken in for questioning Tuesday night, but they didn't say if those people were related to the victim.
Sources said police have responded to the same home multiple times in the past, including a call for a person with a gun, and a request for help with a drug overdose.
"This is a good block. The only thing that's wrong with this block was that house. My neigbors, my neighbor next door to me, she is wonderful. We don't really have no problems except for that house," neighbor Kenya Graham said.
Police did not say if they found a weapon in the home, but sources said investigators confiscated drugs.
