Thursday, June 28, 2012

Life in "Progress" City - Chicago edition



Ashake Banks said she opened a candy stand on the street of her North Austin block two weeks ago to keep kids close to their homes and maybe away from gang crossfire.

Late Wednesday night, Banks' 7-year-old daughter Heaven was sitting next to Banks as she sold snacks and snow cones when someone opened fire down the street around 10:45 p.m. A stray bullet hit the little girl as she ran back to her house in the 1700 block of North Luna Avenue, police and family say. She died half an hour later.

"I opened up the candy store for the kids so they wouldn't have to be pulled back and forth on the block because there's been so much shooting," Banks said this morning. "I figured they (gang members) know us, they wouldn't come to the neighborhood and start shooting, but they really didn't even care.

"She looked forward every day to opening up the candy store, and for somebody just to come take her life, it's not right," Banks said.

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