Man charged with murder of little girl in Portage Park
by BRIAN NADIG and CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI
More details emerged Monday, Aug. 7, about an incident over the weekend in Portage Park that left a little girl dead and the shooter in the hospital from a gunshot wound to his face. He was charged with murder, police said.
The girl was fatally shot in the head and the alleged shooter was critically wounded after the girl’s father tried to disarm him at about 9:20 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, in the 3500 block of North Long Avenue in Portage Park, according to Chicago police.
The girl reportedly was playing outside her home when a neighbor walked up and shot her in the head, police said. She was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office as Serabi Medina, age 9, of the Long Avenue address. Her death was ruled a homicide, the examiner’s office said. Editor’s note: The police department reports the girl’s age as 8.
The girl’s 52-year-old father ran up to the shooter after the shooting and they fell into a vestibule of an apartment building, police said. During the struggle the suspect sustained a gunshot wound to the head, police said.
The suspect was identified by police as Michael Goodman, age 43, of the 3500 block of North Long Avenue. He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. The was charged with first degree murder, police said.
Officers searched the suspect’s apartment and allegedly found about a gram of a substance suspected of being methamphetamine in a bedroom, according to police.
The suspect may have complained about noise earlier in the day before shooting the little girl, according to published reports. Serabi’s mother was reportedly fatally shot in the head in 2018 during an incident in Austin on the West Side, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Goodman was described as a “known offender,” according to the Chicago Police Department Office of News Affairs. A search of arrests records did not show prior arrests in Chicago.
A weapon was recovered, and Area 5 detectives are investigating, police said.
Family members and friends are planning a balloon release on Aug. 7 in honor of Serabi outside her home. Purple balloons are preferred because that was her favorite color, an organizer of the memorial posted on Facebook.
Alderwoman Ruth Cruz (30th) released the following statement over the weekend:
“I am shocked and saddened to hear that an 8-year-old girl was fatally shot in the Portage Park community last night. Law enforcement believes this was an isolated incident and there is not an ongoing threat to the community. My thoughts and prayers are with her family.
“Once I have more information about how to support her family during this devastating time I will keep you informed. In the meantime, hug your loved ones a little tighter today.”
The girl’s death is the second reported murder in the 16th (Jefferson Park) Police District in 2023.
Through July 30 of this year, there have been six shooting incidents in the 16th District compared to nine last year during the same period, according to police.
Robberies are up 22 percent, from 63 to 77, this year in the 16th District, when compared to the same period last year.
Criminal sexual assaults are up 33 percent, from 42 to 56, this year when compared to the same period last year.
Vehicle thefts are up 145 percent in the district this year, from 190 to 465, when compared to the same period in 2022.
