Shavon Gayden, 48, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder, Chicago police confirmed in a statement on Sunday. The charge follows the alleged stabbing of a seven-year-old girl in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on Saturday, just before noon.
Police described the incident as an unprovoked attack on a sidewalk. The victim has been identified as Eddimar Hernandez-Chacon by local media and the medical examiner’s office. Police and prosecutors stated the girl was walking with her 17-year-old sister when Gayden allegedly grabbed the younger child and fatally stabbed her.
Bystanders reportedly chased Gayden and held her until police arrived and made an arrest at the scene. Eddimar was pronounced dead at Comer children’s hospital.
A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said Gayden was due to appear in court on Monday but remained hospitalised. A new hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday. Police have not commented on a possible motive for the stabbing, and it is not immediately clear if there was any relationship between the attacker and the girl.