Melissa Ortega murder: Police 'saturating' area to target 'gang conflict that led to her death'
CHICAGO - Chicago Police said Monday that they will be "saturating" the area where an 8-year-old was killed in a gang shooting with specialized anti-gang units.
Melissa was walking with her mother on Saturday in Little Village when a gunman emerged from a nearby alley and opened fire, unleashing a hail of bullets that fatally struck the 8-year-old girl twice in the head and wounded a gang member who was the intended target, a police report shows.
The gang member who was shot is a member of the Gangster Two Six street gang. A police source said the motivation of the shooting is still unclear but noted the victim’s gang has been feuding with both the Latin Saints and Latin Kings.
Police said that they will "spare no expense and use every resource necessary" to bring the shooter to justice and specialized units will saturate the area in the coming days and weeks to address the gang conflict that led to Melissa's death.