Crime
Chicago man fatally shoots 8-year-old girl playing outside for being "too loud"
Eight-year-old Serabi Medina was playing outside and riding her scooter when she was suddenly shot in front of her father by Michael Goodman, their neighbor from across the street
August 8, 2023 8:41am
Updated: August 9, 2023 8:36am
A Chicago man was charged on Monday after fatally shooting an eight-year-old girl that was playing outside because she was purportedly being too loud, authorities said on Monday.
Police responded to a gunshot report at the child’s home in the 3500 block of North Long Avenue in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood at around 9:40 p.m. on Saturday.
Eight-year-old Serabi Medina was playing outside and riding her scooter when she was suddenly shot in front of her father by Michael Goodman, their neighbor from across the street, Chicago police reported.
Rene Aquino was visiting the girl’s father, Michael Medina, with some friends when the shooting took place. Aquino was talking to Medina when they heard the gunshot from across the street.
"He tells his daughter, matter of fact, grab your scooter, come on, you’re going to go upstairs, go upstairs," said Aquino. "She wasn’t even like halfway toward the doorway, when Ben says, ‘Watch out, this guy just came out the building, he’s got a gun in his hand.’"
The suspect suddenly appeared within a few steps of them, with his gun pulled up, Aquino added.
"When he raised the gun up, Mike seen him and said, ‘that’s my daughter!’ Mike starts moving towards him, he walks up to her and shoots her right in the head," said Aquino.
Medina tackled the gunman. However, he was shot in the face, according to the police report.
After the shooting, Serabi was taken to the hospital in critical condition but was pronounced dead soon after due to the extent of her wound, according to the medical examiner’s office. The girl’s father was also taken to the hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
"The neighbor, he would always just come out and kind of yell at all the kids on the block. Any time they were playing, he would yell at them for being too loud, too noisy," said Megan Kelley, a family friend.
"Before he shot her, he had said something about them being too loud,” Kelley said.
Goodman, 43, was placed in custody on Monday and is being charged with one felony count of first-degree murder.
"She was sweet, she would just ride her scooter up and down the sidewalk smiling," said Destiny Hill, a neighbor. "An innocent, innocent girl who did not deserve that."
