Shavon Gayden, 48, was charged with one felony count of first-degree murder in connection with the death, Chicago police said in a statement Sunday.
Police said the girl was walking in the Chatham neighborhood Saturday morning when a woman carrying an unspecified sharp object approached her and stabbed her multiple times in the back. Bystanders chased after the woman and detained her, police said. Television networks showed a commercial strip lined with a restaurant, a nail salon and a market cordoned off by police tape afterward.
According to a local ABC report, court records show four prior cases involving Gayden, including two domestic battery cases.
In 2023, she was charged with attacking a CTA bus driver and was sentenced to two years of probation. Her mother says she went to court in that case and shared her concerns with the public defender.
A 2024 case involving two people at a shelter resulted in a probation violation. Court documents show an arrest warrant was issued in February 2025 after she missed court. It's unclear whether it was ever executed.
