Interim Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson and 75 officers walked to Madison Pruitt’s house Wednesday to make her dream of being a cop come true. | Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times
Sad news from Chicago, as a 6-year-old little girl with a big heart and dreams of becoming a Chicago cop, lost her fight with muscle cancer.
(Sun-Times) – Madison Pruitt, the 6-year-old girl who was held up as a hero last week by Interim Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson for her struggle in fighting muscle cancer, died Sunday.
Her death hit Sgt. Ernest Spradley and the rest of the officers of the Gresham District police station, two blocks from Madison’s South Side home, especially hard.
“It was, I don’t know, it was just like one of our own, or worse than one of our own,” Spradley, reached Monday morning, said of her death. “It really knocks the wind out of you. We still had a couple of things we wanted to do for her.”
“You’re a brave little girl and you are the reason why we do what we do,” Johnson had told Madison, who sat bundled under blankets in a wheelchair. “You’re our hero.”
Becoming a cop was Madison’s dream.
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Thousands of Chicagoans came to know Madison from that moment, which was captured by newspaper photographers and television cameras.
Shortly thereafter, gifts began arriving for her at the Gresham District police station.
“People from as far as Algonquin were bringing us things for her,” said Spradley, who delivered a gift basket to Madison on Saturday. Among the goodies it contained: an assortment of dolls and a batch of 25 get-well letters from a group of fifth graders.
The stories immediately after the news of Madison’s death on the Sun-Times website? Hint: It’s no wonder the residents of Chicago are de-sensitized to the violence around them.
Man stabbed, critically wounded in Albany Park
Sun-Times file photo
A man was stabbed and critically wounded by his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend Monday morning in the Albany Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side, police said.
Officers responding to the 4600 block of North Drake at 5:27 a.m. found the 25-year-old man lying on the ground with multiple stab wounds, according to Chicago Police.
Man shot in both legs in Chatham
A 43-year-old man was shot in both legs and the hand Sunday night in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side.
The shooting happened about 8:50 p.m. in the 9200 block of South Cottage Grove, according to Chicago Police.
Man found shot to death in Marquette Park
A man was found shot to death Sunday morning in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side.
Officers responding about 11:25 a.m. to a call of a person on the ground found 18-year-old Dennis Bradford III unresponsive in the 6500 block of South Fairfield, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
14-year-old boy shot in Belmont Central
A 14-year-old boy was injured in a Belmont Central neighborhood shooting late Sunday on the Northwest Side.
He and two other people were walking in the 5700 block of West Belden when a gunman opened fire about 10 p.m., according to Chicago Police.
Man shot in Austin
A man was shot early Monday in the West Side Austin neighborhood.
The 25-year-old was a passenger in a vehicle driving westbound in the 5300 block of West Chicago about 12:30 a.m. when he heard gunfire and realized he’d been shot in the right foot, according to Chicago Police.
Man, 25, wounded in South Austin drive-by shooting
A man was wounded Sunday in a South Austin neighborhood drive-by shooting on the West Side.
The 25-year-old man was outside in the 4800 block of West Monroe Street at 9:40 p.m. when a grey four-door vehicle drove by and someone inside fired shots, police said.
Police warn of armed robberies in Belmont Cragin, Hermosa
Chicago Police are warning residents of armed robberies over the last two days in the Belmont Cragin and Hermosa neighborhoods on the Northwest Side.
Sad to hear about the little girl.
I couldn’t stand to read story after story about people getting shot, stabbed, killed everyday.
Chicago really isn’t safe.
Sam