CHICAGO, IL – October 5, 2026 (STL.News) A 48-year-old Chicago woman has been charged with first-degree murder after authorities say a 7-year-old girl was stabbed multiple times in the back while walking along a busy commercial stretch of Chicago’s South Side Saturday morning.
Chicago police identified the defendant as Shavon Gayden, 48, who faces one felony count of first-degree murder.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the child as Edi Mari Hernandez Chacon, according to the Associated Press, WTTW and FOX 32 Chicago. Some television reports and members of the child’s family have referred to her as Eddimar Hernandez or Eddimar Paola Hernandez.
The attack occurred shortly before noon Saturday, Oct. 3, in the 8600 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago’s Chatham area.
Police said the girl was walking along the sidewalk when a woman approached her with a sharp object and stabbed her multiple times in the back.
Edi Mari was rushed to the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital, where she died. The Chicago Sun-Times, citing police, reported she was pronounced dead at 1:01 p.m.
Bystanders who witnessed the attack intervened and detained the woman until police arrived, authorities said.
Gayden was injured during the confrontation with bystanders and was taken to a hospital with injuries that police described as non-life-threatening. Police later took her into custody.
Authorities have not announced a motive.
Gayden is charged with a crime but has not been convicted. She is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The girl was walking with her older sister
Family members and local officials said Edi Mari was walking with her 16-year-old sister shortly before the attack.
Surveillance footage obtained by Chicago television stations shows the child walking hand-in-hand with her older sister before the stabbing.
FOX 32 reported, citing police and family members, that the sisters had left a phone store near 86th Street before the attack.
ABC7 Chicago reported that Gayden allegedly had been involved in an altercation with employees at a nearby wireless store before the stabbing.
That reported confrontation is part of the emerging timeline, but police have not said that it explains why the child was attacked.
Investigators have not publicly identified a motive.
There has also been some conflicting reporting about whether Gayden knew Edi Mari. FOX 32 and NBC Chicago reported that the woman did not know the child, while the Associated Press and CBS initially reported that authorities had not established publicly whether there was a relationship between the attacker and victim.
Because of that discrepancy, the precise nature of any prior connection, if one existed, should be considered unresolved until police or prosecutors provide a definitive account.
What authorities have consistently reported is that Edi Mari was walking on South Cottage Grove Avenue shortly before noon when she was approached and stabbed repeatedly in the back.
CBS News Chicago reported that police described the attack as unprovoked.
Bystanders intervened after stabbing
The attack happened in broad daylight along a commercial corridor lined with businesses.
People nearby reacted almost immediately.
Chicago police said witnesses detained the alleged attacker before officers arrived.
The Chicago Sun-Times, citing a police report and emergency radio traffic, reported additional details about the chaotic response.
According to the Sun-Times, a police report stated that the attacker approached from the south, produced a knife and began stabbing the child. The report characterized the attack as unprovoked.
Afterward, the newspaper said the woman continued north as people in the area tried to restrain her.
The Sun-Times reported that a man chased the woman and struck her, knocking her unconscious.
Police have said Gayden sustained injuries while being detained. She was transported to a hospital before being taken into police custody.
Meanwhile, police officers and emergency personnel attempted to save Edi Mari.
The Sun-Times reported that officers tried to control her bleeding while urgently requesting an ambulance. Police then escorted the ambulance to Comer Children’s Hospital.
Despite those efforts, the child died.
Family members, neighbors and community leaders returned Sunday to the area near 86th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue for a vigil.
White balloons were released, candles were lit, and family members gathered at the place where the child had been attacked a day earlier.
Her family described her as a happy child who enjoyed drawing and playing with her siblings.
ABC7 reported that she also liked waiting near a window for her parents to return home.
Her stepfather, Pedro Izquierdo, told ABC7 in Spanish that she was happy and had dreams for her future.
Her mother, Estefany Hernandez, publicly called for justice for her daughter.
The vigil also focused attention on Edi Mari’s older sister, who was with her shortly before the stabbing.
Eighth Ward Ald. Michelle Harris told FOX 32 that she could not imagine what the 16-year-old was experiencing after being present when her younger sister was attacked.
Harris met with the child’s mother and praised members of the public who intervened following the stabbing.
In a statement released after the attack, Harris said she was deeply saddened by the killing and thanked the bystanders who quickly stepped in to help detain the suspect and summon assistance.
Harris said their actions may have prevented additional harm.
Gayden faces first-degree murder charge
Chicago police announced Sunday that Gayden had been charged with one count of first-degree murder.
She was scheduled for a detention hearing Monday at Cook County Criminal Court.
As of ABC7 Chicago’s 10:18 a.m. update Monday, Gayden remained hospitalized. CBS News Chicago similarly reported that it was unclear whether she would be medically cleared in time to attend the detention hearing.
The hearing could provide substantially more information about the prosecution’s case, including the evidence investigators say connects Gayden to the killing and a more detailed account of what happened before and during the attack.
Until prosecutors present those allegations in court, several details circulating in secondary reports should be treated as preliminary.
Previous criminal cases draw scrutiny
Gayden’s previous encounters with the Cook County criminal justice system have also become part of the public discussion surrounding the case.
CBS News Chicago reported that Gayden had been charged in at least four Cook County criminal cases since 2016.
According to CBS, two of those cases were dropped, while two resulted in convictions and probation.
One previous case involved a 2023 attack on a Chicago Transit Authority bus operator.
ABC7, citing court records, reported that Gayden was arrested in connection with the attack on the CTA employee and received two years of probation.
The station also reported that Gayden later violated probation following an incident involving two shelter workers and received court supervision in that case.
ABC7 further reported that Gayden later failed to appear in court and that an arrest warrant was issued.
However, ABC7 specifically reported that it was unclear whether that warrant was executed.
That qualification is important.
More detailed claims have circulated about the warrant’s status and Gayden’s subsequent contacts with the court system. Without the complete underlying Cook County court record, it would be premature to conclude precisely how the warrant was handled or whether any failure by authorities contributed to the circumstances preceding Saturday’s killing.
The existence of previous arrests or convictions also does not establish Gayden’s guilt in the current murder case.
The first-degree murder charge stemming from Edi Mari’s death must be proved independently in court.
Arrest records show previous encounters with police
FOX 32 reported that Chicago Police Department records show Gayden had several previous arrests between 2016 and 2024.
The listed offenses included domestic battery, aggravated battery involving a transit employee, and aggravated assault involving a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency worker.
An arrest does not establish guilt, and some of Gayden’s previous cases were dismissed.
CBS’ review of Cook County cases provides additional context: of at least four criminal cases it located since 2016, the station reported that two were dropped and two resulted in convictions and probation.
That distinction is important as Gayden’s history receives increased attention following the child’s death.
The appropriate question for authorities is not simply whether Gayden had been arrested previously, but what happened in each case and what her legal status was immediately before Saturday’s attack.
Answering those questions will require examining the official court record rather than relying on assumptions based solely on arrest histories.
Police have not announced a motive
Perhaps the most important unanswered question is also the simplest:
Why was a 7-year-old girl attacked?
Police have not provided an answer.
The reported confrontation at the nearby wireless store occurred before the stabbing, according to ABC7, but authorities have not said that incident motivated the subsequent attack on Edi Mari.
Investigators have released no verified evidence establishing why the child was allegedly targeted.
CBS reported that police characterized the stabbing as unprovoked.
Until investigators or prosecutors disclose additional evidence, any attempt to attribute the killing to anger, mental illness, drugs, a dispute, or another possible cause would be speculation.
That includes claims about Gayden’s mental condition.
CBS interviewed a woman who said she had known Gayden for decades and said family members previously attempted to obtain mental-health and substance-abuse treatment for her.
Those comments provide one person’s account of Gayden’s history, but they do not establish Gayden’s mental condition at the time of Saturday’s attack, nor do they establish a motive.
No publicly reported medical evidence has established such a connection.
Mayor Brandon Johnson responds
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson issued a statement Sunday following the child’s death.
Johnson said he was heartbroken by the killing of a 7-year-old Chicago girl who had been walking with her family and offered condolences to her relatives and the Chatham community.
The mayor said the city would continue working with the Chicago Police Department as the investigation proceeds and would support the child’s family and community.
The killing has generated particular shock because of the circumstances described by authorities: a young child walking with her sister in daylight along a neighborhood commercial corridor before being violently attacked.
Name reported differently by news organizations
One unusual issue in coverage is the different versions of the child’s name appearing in news reports.
The Associated Press reported that the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified her as Edi Mari Hernandez Chacon.
WTTW and FOX 32 reported the same medical examiner identification.
CBS has identified her as Eddimar Hernandez Chacon, while ABC7 has used Eddimar Paola Hernandez.
Those differences appear to reflect variations in how official and family sources have provided or rendered the child’s name.
This article uses Edi Mari Hernandez Chacon because multiple reports attribute that identification directly to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Investigation remains active
Chicago police continue to investigate the killing.
The established facts as of Monday morning are straightforward.
A 7-year-old girl was walking along South Cottage Grove Avenue shortly before noon Saturday.
Authorities say she was approached and stabbed multiple times in the back.
People nearby intervened and detained the alleged attacker.
The child was rushed to Comer Children’s Hospital but died from her injuries.
Police arrested Gayden and subsequently charged her with first-degree murder.
It remains unclear why the attack occurred.
The pending court proceedings should provide more details about the evidence detectives gathered and the prosecution’s theory of the case.
They may also clarify Gayden’s prior court history and the circumstances surrounding the previously reported arrest warrant.
Until those records and allegations are presented officially, those issues should remain separate from what has already been established about Edi Mari’s killing.
For her family, however, the court proceedings begin amid an irreversible loss.
A 7-year-old girl left home with her older sister on a Saturday morning. Before noon, authorities say she had been attacked on a Chicago sidewalk.
Her family gathered at that same location the following day to remember a child they described as happy, playful, and full of dreams.
Now a murder prosecution is beginning, while investigators and the community continue searching for an answer to the question police have not yet been able to publicly explain: why Edi Mari was attacked.
Editor’s note: Shavon Gayden has been charged with first-degree murder. Criminal charges are allegations. Gayden is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
