Charles McKenzie, center, becomes emotional during a prayer circle July 2, 2021, a day after a mass shooting took place nearby, where his niece was critically injured. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

       Charles McKenzie, an activist in Englewood, was out shopping Thursday evening when he got a call informing him that seven people were injured in a shooting nearby.

       He rushed to the scene as a community organizer for a group called Englewood First Responders, but quickly learned the shooting hit more closely to home. His 1-month-old niece was among those shot.

       She was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital seriously injured.

       “I flew over here and I get here and it’s my niece,” McKenzie, 31, said. “It’s painful.”

       The shooting happened around 8:15 p.m. Thursday in the 6500 block of South Halsted in the Englewood neighborhood, Chicago police said. Three males got out of a black Jeep Cherokee and began shooting in several directions, striking seven people, then got back in the Jeep and fled east on 66th Street, police said.

       The baby girl was shot hours after a 9-year-old girl was shot and injured Thursday afternoon around 79th Street and Maryland Avenue in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.

       After responding to the scene on Thursday night, McKenzie drove to the hospital and met his sister.

       “She was very hurt,” he said. “She was crying.”

       Community activist Andrew Holmes said he met with the baby’s family at the hospital Thursday night. He said city residents are continually traumatized by children being shot.

       “This baby was just born,” he said. “The mother is traumatized. The family is traumatized. The city is traumatized.”

       Also injured in the shooting was a 15-year-old boy who was shot in the arm and was in good condition, police said. A Chicago police spokesman declined to offer more information Friday, saying the case was under investigation.

       On Friday afternoon, McKenzie prayed with community members just a block from where the girl was shot. More than two dozen people stood in a circle in the parking lot of a Family Dollar and sent well wishes to the girl and her mother.

       McKenzie said his niece is a smiley, joyful baby. She had surgery and is expected to live, he said. He said his sister is grateful for the community’s support.

       “It’s like a family in Englewood,” he said. “We stand together.”

       The event, which was planned before the shooting, was one of a number of community events McKenzie periodically hosts as a way to give away food, connect with the community and work on violence prevention initiatives.

       Dionna Goodwin, left, prepares food during a community cookout on July 2, 2021, at 66th and Halsted streets, a day after a mass shooting took place nearby during which a young girl was critically injured. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

       Community leaders were there to provide information about early learning programs for children and set up vaccine appointments. There were free hot dogs and burgers on a grill across the street.

       “This is something that he does literally multiple times a week, probably three or four days out of the week, if he’s not cleaning the community,” said Tracey Lee, pastor of Reach Church, of McKenzie.

       A police officer asked McKenzie if he wanted to cancel Friday’s event after the shooting but he decided to go forward with it, Lee said.

       “He could’ve canceled and dealt with that but his heart is just so big, he said ‘I can’t let the people down,’” Lee said.

       Lee led a prayer circle to kick off the event. She asked God to protect the Englewood community as 25 people held hands around her, and a few others stopped to listen.

       “You can drive down any block in Englewood, any main street, and see just the love that we have for one another,” Lee said, “despite the violence that we see and experience.”

       mabuckley@chicagotribune.com

       scasanova@chicagotribune.com

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