East Chicago officers were called to the scene near Guthrie and Main Street at about 1:15 p.m. for reports of shots fired in the area based off a ShotSpotter report, police said.
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Family identified the boy as Jeremiah Moore, and said he and his family were on their way home from visiting his grandmother in the city when he was shot and killed.
"My brother asked me, 'What did we do?' You know?" said Dameion Bey, uncle. "'What did we do?' That's all he keeps saying. 'What did we do?' We didn't do nothing!"
Bey said before the shooting his family thought they were being followed by at least one car.
"They said they noticed a red Charger with tinted windows and they said they didn't think nothing of it," he said.
When they reached the intersection near Guthrie and Main, shots rang out.
"Bullets was coming through the windows, four kids in the back, we're all trying to duck and take cover," Bey recalled.
When it was over, Bey said his brother looked back at Jeremiah.
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"Once they tried to get him they noticed that he was shot," he said.
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Jeremiah had been shot in the back of the head. His family first tried to get help at the fire department, then drove to the hospital.
Police said officers responding to the ShotSpotter report of gunfire found nothing at the scene, but went to St. Catherine Hospital to see if anyone came in with a gunshot wound, police said. While leaving the hospital, officers saw a white van speed onto the emergency room ramp.
They saw a woman get out of the van carrying the boy, who had a gunshot wound to the back of his head, police said, and rushed him inside for treatment. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
"He was seven years old. He didn't deserve that; they were ambushed and shot at with kids in the car," Bey said.
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Police said they found a firearm inside the family van, but Bey said his sister-in-law has a Concealed Carry License. He isn't sure if anyone in the car tried to return fire.
"This is one of their babies. You know, it's nothing that you could do to replace his life. They just want justice," Bey said.
East Chicago police said they are still waiting to interview the family, but Bey said they're in no condition to talk right now.
"They're just destroyed," he said. "She's not gonna be able to put two sentences together right now, she's destroyed."
Bey also said Jeremiah had gone to Chicago in June to participate in a protest against gun violence.
Anyone with information about this shooting should contact Detective Daniel Ponce at dponce@eastchicago.com or 219-391-8318. You can also call in an anonymous tip at 219-391-8500.