A seven-year-old girl was shot dead at a fast food drive-through in the US city of Chicago on Sunday as shooting deaths continue to climb.
Jaslyn Adams and her father, Jontae Adams, 28, were shot at while ordering food at a McDonald's in the Homan Square neighbourhood in the centre of the city.
Jaslyn was taken to Stroger Hospital by police, where she was pronounced dead. Mr Adams was shot in the torso.
The Chicago Sun Times reported that Mr Adams called his mother after the incident, telling her: "They just shot my baby."
Less than three hours later, two more people were shot in the car park of another fast food outlet less than 10 minutes drive from the scene of Jaslyn's murder. Police said the two incidents are probably linked.
Also on Sunday, five people were treated in hospital after being shot and injured in Shreveport, Louisiana, the third group shooting reported in the United States within 24 hours.
In a briefing to local news outlets, police said they were in the early stages of investigating the incident, without confirming the number of people admitted to hospital nor their condition.
The US was already on edge on Sunday after a surge of gun violence in recent weeks.
A gunman killed eight workers and himself at an Indianapolis FedEx centre on Thursday night, and at least seven deadly mass shootings have been reported in the country over the past month.
Despite the global pandemic keeping many in lockdown, 2020 was the worst year for gun violence in decades, killing 19,324 people, according to Gun Violence Archive tallies.
Mass shootings – defined as having a minimum of four victims either injured or killed, not including the shooter – are also up, with 150 incidents occurring so far in 2021.
US President Joe Biden has promised action on gun control, so far signing executive orders targeting home-made “ghost guns” and the stabilising braces for handguns that allow them to be fired from the shoulder, like a rifle.
He has not proposed new legislation to revoke gun manufacturers’ liability protections or to toughen federal background checks, despite pledging to send such legislation to Congress on his first day in office. Instead he is supporting legislation proposed by House Democrats.
