January 31, 2013 11:15

Teenage girl who performed at President Obama's inauguration has been shot dead

Hadiya Pendleton was gunned down in a gang-related incident in Chicago

Photo: Press

A teenage girl who performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration has been shot dead.

Hadiya Pendleton (pictured above) was killed when a gunman opened fire on a group of children in a park in Chicago having mistaken them for a group of gang members, according to local police. The 15-year-old performed with the King College Prep school band at Obama's inauguration earlier this month.

She was sheltering from the rain under a canopy with about 10 to 12 teenagers on Tuesday (January 29) when the gunman leapt over a fence, opened fire and then jumped into a getaway car at 2.30pm. Two boys were also injured in the incident, reports The Daily Telegraph.

White House spokesman for Obama, Jay Carney, said:

It's a terrible tragedy any time a young person is struck down with so much of their life ahead of them, and we see it far too often.

He added: "And as the President has said, we will never be able to eradicate every act of evil in this country, but we – but if we can save any one child's life, we have an obligation to try when it comes to this scourge of gun violence."

It was the 40th murder recorded in the city so far this year. Over the last year 506 people have been killed in Chicago.

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