Man charged in killing of 7-year-old Chicago girl

July 1 (Reuters) - A Chicago man was being held Sunday on murder and battery charges in the shooting death of a 7-year-old
girl last week while she was selling candy and lemonade with her
mother near their home, authorities said.

The killing of Heaven Sutton, who was shot in the chest last
Wednesday at a West Side street stand she was operating with her
mother, sparked outcries from Chicago officials about escalating
gang violence in the city.

Authorities have called the shooting gang-related and said
Sutton was killed in the crossfire between two men. She was the
253rd murder victim in Chicago this year. A 19-year-old man was
wounded in the same incident.

Jerrell Dorsey, 26, was being held Sunday without bail at
Cook County Jail on one count of murder and one count aggravated
battery and discharge of a firearm.

Dorsey's attorney, Eric Dunham, said on Sunday his client
had said he was in the area that night, but has denied any
involvement in the shooting.

Dorsey had planned to turn himself in over the weekend to
clear up confusion, but he was arrested late Friday before he
could meet with authorities, Dunham said in a telephone
interview.

Dorsey is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, Dunham said.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who has vowed to reduce violence
in his city since taking office last year, angrily called upon
gang members to "take your conflict away from a 7-year-old"
hours after Heaven Sutton was killed.

Through mid June, murders were up about 38 percent in
Chicago this year, most in impoverished neighborhoods on the
South and West Sides. At least one person was killed and nine
more shot in Chicago this weekend through Sunday afternoon,
according to local reports.

Analysts have said a number of factors may be at work,
including high jobless rates, a splintering of street gangs
fighting over turf and drug-dealing, and unusually warm weather
that has drawn people outside and into the line of fire.

(Reporting By Karen Brooks in Austin, Texas; Editing by David
Bailey and Cynthia Osterman)


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