Police say woman fatally stabbed 7-year-old girl walking in Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — A 7-year-old girl was fatally stabbed while walking in front of businesses in a Chicago neighborhood, and people nearby detained the woman who attacked her, police said.

Chicago police said the girl was walking in the Chatham neighborhood late Saturday morning when a woman carrying an unspecified sharp object approached her and stabbed her multiple times in the back. Television networks showed a commercial strip lined with a restaurant, nail salon and market cordoned off by red police tape afterward.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the child as Edi Mari Hernandez Chacon. She died at a hospital.

A security photo from a nearby business showed the girl that witnesses identified had been walking hand-in-hand with an older female on the sidewalk, WLS-TV reported. Police did not share any information about that person.

The alleged attacker was taken to the hospital with injuries that weren't life-threatening and was arrested, Chicago police said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear if there was any relationship between the attacker and the girl. Police have not commented on a possible motive for the stabbing and declined Sunday to provide further details or identify the suspect.

10/04/2026 18:42 -0400

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