7-year-old Halloween gunshot victim getting better by the day, dad says

Gisselle Zamago was shot twice last week near 26th Street and Laramie Avenue.

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Gisselle Zamago, 7, is recovering after being shot twice while trick-or-treating in Little Village on Halloween last week.

Gisselle Zamago, 7, is recovering after being shot twice while trick-or-treating in Little Village on Halloween last week.

Provided by Rigoberto Zamago

Gisselle Zamago, the 7-year-old hit by two stray bullets while trick-or-treating in Little Village, is getting better by the day, her father told the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday.

“She’s recovering very well. Today she got up, sat down and even went to use the bathroom,” said Rigoberto Zamago, who’s been at his daughter’s bedside since the shooting on Halloween last week.

Hospital officials have not told Zamago yet when his daughter will be able to leave the hospital.

“Thankfully, she’s not facing any big risks right now,” he said. “Everything is going smoothly.”

Gisselle Zamago was out with her family Thursday in the 3700 block of West 26th Street when at least two people walked up to another group and began shooting, police said. The girl was struck in the neck, officials said, and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

A 32-year-old man who also was wounded was identified by police as the intended target.

Friday, a 15-year-old boy was charged in connection with the shooting. The teen appeared in Cook County juvenile court Saturday and faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

County officials said Monday night Gisselle Zamago was “resting and watching her favorite TV shows” at Cook County hospital.

Rigoberto Zamago, 35, works at a north suburban recycling plant, though he hasn’t been back to work since the shooting.

“I asked for permission to take off until Gisselle was out of the hospital,” he said. “Hopefully I still have my job when she gets out. Either way, she comes first. Jobs come and go.”

Carlos Ballesteros is a corps member of Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of Chicago’s South Side and West Side.

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