A baby girl was shot and killed Wednesday during a drive-by shooting in Toledo, Ohio, and authorities are asking for help finding those responsible.
It happened near the intersection of Hillcrest Avenue and Jackman Road. Police say seven-month-old Desire Hughes was in a car with her father, Jeremiah Hughes, when individuals in a vehicle came alongside them, firing into the car, WTOL reported Thursday.
The young man was grazed by a bullet, but Desire was rushed to the hospital after suffering at least one gunshot wound and eventually died from those injuries, according to officials.
“The Lucas County Coroner released the results of an autopsy Thursday, revealing the infant had been shot in the chest. According to Deputy Coroner of Lucas County Thomas Blomquist, the death was ruled a homicide,” the outlet said.
Video footage showed the area near Hillcrest and Jackman where the incident happened:
Law enforcement has requested citizens’ help to identify the individuals responsible involved in the shooting. “We are asking residents in the area to please review any home security footage they may have, and to report anything suspicious they may have seen before, during, or after this homicide occurred,” the Toledo Police Department said in a social media post on Thursday.
A photo showed the baby girl wearing a plaid dress and red bow:
Neighbors were asked to call or text Crime Stoppers at 419-255-1111.
Meanwhile, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz described the incident as a “new low” for the area, and said the drive-by shooting indicated gangs were responsible.
“It’s not fair. Whether it’s the 10-year-old back in February or the 7-month-old last night, that a young person loses her life because of the bad decisions made by the grown ups in her life,” he told WTOL.
According to Kapszukiewicz, such incidents were shadows of a bigger problem, and claimed beside domestic violence, each homicide so far this year had been connected to gangs or drugs.
He planned more targeted police raids in neighborhoods while Sgt. Adam Fish of the Toledo Police Department explained it was too soon to say if the recent incident was drug or gang-related.
He added Desire’s death had deeply affected the precinct.
“Oh, it’s huge. I mean if it doesn’t strike you, if it doesn’t hit you at home, then I don’t know how you don’t have any feeling for anything. It’s a huge loss, not just for the department, but for the community,” Fish commented.