Girl dies on 12th birthday after bullet hits her in the head when gunman opens fire at her family’s home in Illinois
HARVEY, ILLINOIS: A young girl was shot in the head by a stray bullet at her home in south suburban Harvey this past week died the next day, her 12th birthday.
Kentavia Blackful, a student of Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School, was working on a computer at 9 pm on Monday, designing the t-shirt she wanted to wear for her birthday party the next day when an unidentified gunman walked up to the house and fired indiscriminately, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
"The girl’s family heard the shots and yelled 'Get down!" revealed Andrew Holmes, an anti-violence activist who has been in contact with her family. "When it was over they saw she was bleeding."
Kentavia was struck in the head and was pronounced dead at 10:28 p.m. on Tuesday at the Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Her grandfather, Kenneth Donner, was outside on the porch when the bullets flew into the house through the home’s front window and aluminum siding, said a source who was familiar with the tragic incident.
The 12-year-old was an honor student and the president of her sixth-grade class, as well as the student council. She also tutored her fellow students, and was a member of the math and basketball teams, with loved ones saying that her future was limitless.
"This is a baby we're talking about," Donner told WGVN. "She hadn't even really experienced life yet. The position she was in, life was fun."
Our thoughts are with her family and the greater Harvey School District 152 community," said Harvey Public Schools District 152 Supt. John Thomas in a statement. "The safety and well-being of our students remains a top priority and the Harvey School District 152 staff is working together to ensure we are providing the appropriate support for our students."
No one has been arrested in connection to the shooting, and a $3,500 reward is being offered to anyone who can provide any information on the case. Those with leads can call the U TELL US tip line at 1-800-883-5587.
"If you have seen something, if you know something, heard something, let somebody know," pleaded Donner. "You can do it anonymously. You could write a letter, give it to somebody."