A TWO-year-old girl was shot dead in her living room after a gunman opened fire in Philadelphia.
Nicolette Rivera along with her mum, 24, and a male contractor, 33, were struck by bullets on Sunday.
The attacker fired up to seven rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle through the door and window of the home in Pennsylvania.
Nicolette was struck in the back of the head and was pronounced dead at the scene at 3.41pm.
Her mother was hit in the right side of her head and once in the back, NBCPhiladelphia reported
A contractor, who was working inside the home on the 3300 block of North Water Street, was shot in the stomach.
The mother is in a stable condition and the man is currently critical.
Nicolette was described as a “star” and a “bright light in everyone’s lives” by her mum, according to NBC.
The young girl hoped to become an actress when she grew-up.
“She was going to be somebody,” he mother said under condition of anonymity.
Nicolette was due to dress-up as baby shark, from the popular kids’ song of the same name, this Halloween.
There’s six or seven rounds that went through the house. It would be too much for it to be a coincidence that that wasn’t where they were shooting.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Christine Coulter
Acting Philadelphia Police Crime Commissioner Christine Coulter believed the suspect of Sunday’s attack fled on foot.
She thought the home was deliberately targeted as it was the “only house that was struck” in the neighbourhood.
Ms. Coulter said: “There’s six or seven rounds that went through the house.
“It would be too much for it to be a coincidence that that wasn’t where they were shooting.”
Currently no weapons have been found and no arrests have been made.
The shocking attack happened less than 24 hours after an 11-month-old boy was shot four times in a car seat.
Yazeem Jenkins was hit in the head, neck and twice in the buttocks, in suspected stray gunfire.
He was said to be in a “very, very, very critical condition” and is not expected to fully recover from his wounds.
On Sunday, another shooting occurred five minutes before the one on North Water Street, fortunately nobody was hurt.
Philadelphians should not live in fear of violence that could take away a child’s life, but for too many this is a sad reality.
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney
Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said he was “outraged, disgusted and heartbroken” by the attacks this weekend.
He added: “Philadelphians should not live in fear of violence that could take away a child’s life, but for too many this is a sad reality.”
Mr. Kenney urged citizens to help authorities tackle the “flow of illegal guns and drugs” in the city.
He offered resources to the affected neighbourhoods, “specifically trauma-informed care,” in light of the attacks.
Mr. Kenney said that police are conducting a full investigation.
A $30,000 reward has been offered to anyone with information that will lead to an arrest and conviction.
He added that investigators “will have whatever resources they need to bring these perpetrators to justice.”
Mr. Kenney said: “This is not who we are.
“This is not what defines our city, and we must work together to create a safer city for us all.”
