A 9-year-old girl was fatally shot Wednesday night while she was playing in the front yard of an apartment complex in Anaheim.
The shooting was reported at 7:15 p.m. in the 2300 block of West Greenacre Avenue, which is located next to Brookhurst Community Park, according to Lt. Bob Dunn with the Anaheim Police Department.
“I see the dad holding the little girl and he was just screaming … begging to God that she’d live,” witness River Hernandez said.
A tearful Marquis Oliver, recounted how she ran over to help the girl, who she said went to school with her son.
“She got shot on her right side, so I told someone to go in and get a towel so we could go ahead and put pressure on the wound,” Oliver said.
“I began to give her CPR,” Oliver said. “Her hands were cold, her forehead was cold, but she was still breathing.”
The child was rushed by ambulance to UCI Medical Center in critical condition.
Rescue personnel could be seen performing chest compressions on the girl as she arrived at the hospital.
She was later pronounced dead.
The neighborhood was known for gang activity, Dunn said.
It was not clear where the gunfire originated.
Police cordoned off the area while they searched for evidence and witnesses, Dunn said.
KTLA’s Scott Williams and Nidia Becerra Tijerino contributed to this article.