Girl (15) latest gun victim

A 15-year-old girl who performed at Barack Obama’s inauguration festivities is the latest name on the ever-increasing murder list in the president’s home town.

Hadiya Pendleton was killed in a Chicago park by a gunman who apparently was not even aiming at her as she talked with her friends. Chicago police said Hadiya, who was in a marching band at this month’s inauguration, was in a park about a mile from Mr Obama’s home in a South Side neighbourhood on Tuesday when a man opened fire on the group. Hadiya was shot in the back as she tried to escape.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president and first lady Michelle Obama’s thoughts and prayers were with Hadiya’s family. The city’s 42nd killing is part of Chicago’s bloodiest January in more than a decade, following on the heels of 2012, which ended with more than 500 murders for the first time since 2008. – (PA)