7-year-old girl shot and killed in drive-by shooting at child’s birthday party in Indiana

A 7-year old girl was killed Saturday night in a drive-by shooting at a birthday party in South Bend, Indiana, police say.

The girl was at a house for another child’s celebration, the St. Joseph County Metro Homicide Unit said in a release.

South Bend Police were called to the home around 7:40 p.m., after shots were fired from a car driving past, the release said.

Officers arrived to find the girl shot and in “very serious condition,” it said.

“Although there were numerous people in front of the home when the shooting occurred, the child was the only person hit by the gunfire,” police said.

The victim was taken to a hospital where she later died, police said.

The shooting is part of a rise in gun violence in cities across the country this summer. The increase coincides with the end of pandemic-related lockdowns, mass protests against police anti-Black violence, and the summer, when shootings annually increase.

Still, all types of crime, including gun violence, has fallen sharply across the US since the 1990s peak.