Reign Ware, a 5-year-old girl who loved dancing and gymnastics, was shot and killed Saturday evening on Chicago's Near West Side, becoming the youngest victim of a bloody Memorial Day weekend that left at least eight people dead and 27 others wounded across the city.
Reign was inside a residence in the 200 block of South Campbell Avenue when gunfire erupted around 9:25 p.m. Saturday, according to Chicago Police. A bullet struck her in the head. She was rushed to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:18 p.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office said.
Police have not said whether Reign was the intended target or caught in crossfire. No arrests had been made as of Monday evening, and detectives from the CPD's Area Three division are investigating.
'She Was Full of Life'
Reign's family described her as a bright, energetic child who loved to dance and practice gymnastics. A relative who spoke to the Chicago Sun-Times outside the family's home Sunday afternoon said Reign had just finished kindergarten and was looking forward to summer.
"She was full of life," the relative said. "She didn't deserve this."
Deadliest Memorial Day Weekend in Years
The shooting was part of a surge of gun violence that transformed one of the city's busiest holiday weekends into its deadliest Memorial Day period in at least six years.
From Friday evening through Monday night, Chicago Police recorded at least eight homicides and 27 shooting injuries. Last year over the same holiday stretch, five people were killed and 16 were wounded. In 2022, the toll was four killed and 21 wounded.
The violence extended across multiple neighborhoods. Among the other victims: a 34-year-old man killed in a drive-by shooting in Austin, a 28-year-old man shot during an argument in South Shore, and a 41-year-old man found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in West Pullman.
Police Response Draws Scrutiny
At a Monday news conference, Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling called Reign's death "unacceptable" and said detectives were working around the clock to identify suspects.
"We are not going to rest until we find who did this," Snelling said. "A 5-year-old child is gone. That should bother every single person in this city."
The department deployed an additional 300 officers over the weekend to high-violence districts, but the expanded presence did not prevent the spike in shootings. Community activists and some elected officials questioned whether the strategy is working.
Alderman Jason Ervin (28th), whose ward includes the Near West Side, said the weekend's toll shows that "we cannot police our way out of this crisis."
"We need investment in these communities, in these families, in these children—before they end up on either side of a gun," Ervin said Monday.
A City Grapples With Another Child Lost
Reign's death comes as Chicago has seen a modest decrease in overall homicides this year compared to 2023, but shootings involving children remain a persistent crisis. She is at least the fourth child under 10 killed by gunfire in the city this year, according to data compiled by the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
On Sunday evening, neighbors and family members gathered near the Campbell Avenue home for a vigil, leaving behind balloons, stuffed animals, and a poster with Reign's photograph. Several attendees wore pink, her favorite color.
"She was just a baby," said neighbor Tanya Williams, 44, who has lived on the block for 15 years. "How many more babies we got to lose before something changes?"
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact CPD Area Three detectives or submit an anonymous tip through Cook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-535-STOP.
