Laylah Petersen Shooting: Police Search for Suspects in Death of 5-Year-Old Milwaukee Girl
Milwaukee authorities and family members of a 5-year-old girl who was killed while sitting on her grandfather's lap when shots flew through their home asked the public for help in finding the shooter.
Police Chief Edward Flynn said during a press conference Saturday that he would keep a picture of Laylah Petersen in his pocket, next to photos of his own grandchildren, until her killers were arrested. Laylah's family also said that they had donated the girl's heart to help another child.
"She is going to be in our hearts, like her little baby heart is going to be in somebody else's," Flynn said with her parents, grandparents and other relatives present. "We know that as awful as this event has been, she is going to live on and save a life."
The little girl was on the couch in her grandparents' home Thursday evening when a dozen bullets were fired into the home, one striking her in the head. No arrests have been made in connection with the crime. Police said they don't believe that anyone in the home was specifically being targeted.
Several theories are being explored, including the possibility that the house was a mistaken target.
Flynn added that officers were receiving reliable tips and asking individuals in the neighborhood for witnesses. A $5,000 reward is being offered for information leading to arrests and convictions in the case.
"At this point, rumors are as helpful as facts," he said, urging that people with any information should come forward. Flynn said that he and his officers "are not going to rest until we find the perpetrators of this vicious crime to justice."
He continued by saying that this year so far, 11 children under 13 years old have been shot this year in Milwaukee, compared with only two kids last year.
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