Melissa Ortega GoFundMe raises more than $80,000 as Xavier Guzman is charged with murder of 8-year-old Little Village girl

Melissa Ortega, an eight-year-old student of Emiliano Zapata Academy, was shot dead during a gang violence incident in Chicago’s Little Village over the weekend. Earlier this week, 27-year-old Xavier Guzman and an unidentified 16-year-old were arrested in relation to the shooting.

While Guzman was charged with first-degree murder and several other crimes, the latter was charged with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder and two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm.

In his statement, Police Superintendent David Brown said that the teenager shot the victim and Guzman served as his getaway driver. Authorities caught Guzman after he was spotted driving the very same vehicle used in the shooting.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Kim Foxx announced that the minor will eventually be charged as an adult. Brown shared that the city of Chicago was “shaken” by the incident and “cannot make sense of the tragedy.”

Matt DeMateo, pastor with the New Life Community Church, shared a statement by the victim’s mother Araceli Leaños and revealed that she had forgiven the suspect, despite being shattered by the loss of her “princess”:

“To the aggressor: I forgive you. You were a victim, too. As a 16-year-old, the community failed you, just like it failed my precious baby.”

Melissa Ortega’s family also organized a GoFundMe campaign following her tragic demise. The fundraiser has already received more than $80,000 in donations at the time of writing. The funds will reportedly be used to cover her funeral expenses and to bury her remains in her home town in Mexico.

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A look into the Melissa Ortega shooting incident

Melissa Ortega's GoFundMe page (Image via GoFundMe)

On January 22, 2022, eight-year-old Melissa Ortega was shot dead while walking with her mother Araceli Leaños on Pulaski Road in Little Village during a crossfire between two street gangs.

The child and mother were reportedly running errands when they noticed bullets being fired in the middle of the street. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the mother-daughter duo wanted to escape the scene and started running towards a nearby bank when Leanos saw her daughter “limp.”

Shortly after, Leanos realized the child had been shot with a stray bullet twice in her head. Melissa Ortega was immediately transported to Stroger Hospital, but later succumbed to her injuries. She was pronounced dead within two hours of the shootout.

As per the Chicago Police Department, the intended target of the shooting was a 26-year-old man who also suffered two gunshot wounds in the lower back and remains in critical condition at Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago.

Surveillance footage showed the shooter chasing the target on 26th Street while unloading his weapon. The Daily Beast reported that police discovered at least 13 spent 9mm shell casings, one fired round and one bullet fragment from the scene of the incident.

It was also revealed that the intended target had been arrested 13 times in the past and convicted of two felony counts. Local reports suggest the target is associated with the Gangster Two-Six Street gang, which has recently been involved in a deadly rivalry with Latin Saints and the Latin Kings street gangs.

On Monday, January 24, 2020, Melissa Ortega’s family gave an official statement to ABC7 and said the child was a Mexican immigrant who moved to the U.S. with her mother to have a better life, just six months before the deadly shooting incident:

“Like many immigrants, Melissa hoped for a better life here: she wanted to learn English, she wanted to experience Chicago snow, she wanted to get a build-a-bear, she wanted to make Tik Tok dances with her friends.”

The heartbroken family also said that the child had “American dreams” but fell victim to “American violence” instead:

“At age 8, she was a girl full of hope and had her whole life ahead of her. She sought to achieve the American Dream, but was instead given American Violence.”

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was left emotional while addressing the situation and empathizing with the victim’s mother:

“Imagine coming to Chicago to make a better life for your family and losing your child literally as you’re walking down the street hand in hand thinking about lighter moments. As a mother myself, it’s hard for me to imagine the pain that Araceli (Melissa’s mother) feels. No one should have to endure this kind of pain.”

Authorities also shared that Xavier Guzman and the teenager arrested for the murder of Melissa Ortega were “known offenders.”

Meanwhile, community members and activists organized memorial altars in front of the area where Ortega was shot to remember the deceased child.