Cleveland — Police in Ohio said they are searching for a suspect after a 10 year-old girl was shot and killed on the Fourth of July.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office on Friday identified the child as Gracie Griffin, according to Fox 8 News.
Authorities said officers responded to reports about a shooting in the West Side of Cleveland and found the injured girl shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday. She was taken to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
It’s not yet known what sparked the shooting or if the girl was targeted. No other injuries were reported.
A Cleveland police officer was also gunned down on Independence Day. The Cleveland Division of Police said Officer Jamieson Ritter, a four-year veteran of the department, was shot and killed while in the line of duty Thursday morning.
Police said 24-year-old De’Lawnte Hardy was charged with aggravated murder in connection to Ritter's death.
"Today is a sad day for our city," the chief of the department noted on Facebook. "Ironically, on this day designated for freedom, we are reminded of the evil that tries to impose on our community. However, despite our pain and hurt, we take in the immense sacrifice Officer Ritter gave, and we will honor his memory and compassion. We will continue to carry his legacy in our hearts."
Their deaths were two of multiple murders across the nation during the extended Fourth of July weekend.
Two women and an 8-year-old boy were killed in Chicago, while a man was killed and eight others were hurt in Philadelphia. Three people were killed and eight were injured after a suspected drunk driver plowed through a group celebrating the Fourth of July in New York City.
The holiday is historically is one of the nation’s deadliest days of the year. A flurry of shootings around the holiday a year ago left more than a dozen people dead and over 60 wounded. A year before that, a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade left seven people dead near Chicago.
Violence and mass shootings often increase in the summer months, with more people gathering for social events, teenagers out of school, as well as and warmer weather.