Chicago shooting: Jaslyn Adams, 7, remembered at vigil after fatal shooting in West Side McDonald's drive-thru

Young girl's father, who was also shot, has long criminal record, according to records obtained by the I-Team

ByLiz Nagy and Alexis McAdams WLS logo
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Vigil held to remember 7-year-old killed in drive-thru shooting
A vigil was held Monday night to remember a 7-year-old girl who was shot and killed in a McDonald's drive-thru on Chicago's West Side Sunday afternoon.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A vigil was held Monday night to remember a 7-year-old girl who was shot and killed in a McDonald's drive-thru on Chicago's West Side Sunday afternoon.



The girl's father, who was also shot, remains hospitalized in serious condition, police said Monday morning.



Family identified the girl as Jaslyn Adams. The girl and her 29-year-old father were in a car at the McDonald's drive-thru near Roosevelt Road and Kedzie Avenue at about 4:15 p.m. when they were both shot.



A McDonald's employee said two men jumped out of another car, ambushing the family and firing repeatedly into their car. Police said more than 50 gunshots were fired.



A 7-year-old girl is dead and a 29-year-old man injured after a shooting in Homan Square Sunday.


Adams was struck multiple times in the body and the man was struck in the torso, police said.



Adams' grandma, Lawanda McMullen, got the phone call from her son moments after the gunfire.



"I was frantic and he was frantic. He could not breathe on the phone. He just kept saying, 'mom, come get me, they just shot up my baby,'" she described.



Police said officers already at the scene placed the badly injured little girl in the back of their SUV and raced toward the nearest hospital.



"He couldn't breathe on the phone. He was just like, 'Ma, come get me, they shot my baby, they shot my baby up,'" McMullen said. "They said she came in with no pulse. [They] opened up her chest and did chest compressions but could not get her back."



The girl was transported to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The family believes the child was caught in the middle of a gang-related shooting.



Police have not yet said if the girl's father, Jontae Adams, was the target, but according to records obtained by the ABC7 I-Team, Jontae is currently on parole from Statesville Penitentiary for a drug case.



The 29-year-old father's long criminal history would make him well known to Chicago narcotics and gang investigators, since he's been charged and convicted with multiple class x felonies.



Now, her family is in mourning.



Balloon release honors girl, 7, killed in McDonald's drive-thru


A balloon release was held to honor 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams after she was shot and killed while in the car with her dad in a McDonald's drive-thru Sunday.


"It was cowardly. That baby had nothing to do with that. She had a life to live and they took that from her," she said.



"Please put the guns down," said Tawny McMullen, the victim's aunt. "My 8-year-old baby says she doesn't want to go out and play because she is scared that she is going to be shot."



"You pumped six and a half bullets in that baby. That don't make you a man. That don't make you a gangster! Something wrong with you," said community activist Andrew Holmes.



"We get together to march for the police killing people, we have to march for us killing ourselves. We have to stop this," said community member Salisha Peterson.



Adams was a first-grade student at Cameron Elementary School, according to the Chicago Teachers Union.



The Union tweeted Monday, saying they are "suffering from the devastating loss of a 7-year-old classmate. It's pain that runs incredibly deep throughout the entire school community. Think of them, and pray for them."





A memorial grows for Adams as her family grieves and remembers the little girl with a bright future.



"She was just sweet. Real loving. Her and my baby were real close," Tawny said. "Very beautiful young lady, real sweet child. My 8-year-old daughter, they was real close and my baby taking, my baby taking it so hard right now."



Monday morning, "Rest In Pink" appeared written across the site of the McDonald's, possibly memorializing Jaslyn Adams. The 7-year-old's nickname "Pinky" was also written with a heart just feet from where she was shot and killed.



"I was in this drive-thru last Thursday with my child getting chicken nuggets," said 24th Ward Ald. Michael Scott Jr.



"We could have been in the drive-thru line when this happened," said Melissa Conyears-Ervin, city treasurer. "None of us are removed from what happens each day in our community."



As the investigation continues, community members show up to the site where Adams had her final moments, to pay their respects.



"This shooting in Chicago can stop. I have an 11-year-old daughter -- I want to save her life. I want her to live," Peterson added.



A balloon release was also held at the McDonald's Monday afternoon.



Area Four detectives are investigating and no one is in custody.

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