A four-year-old boy was killed by stray gunfire during a drive-by shooting as he got his hair braided.
The horrifying tragedy happened during a weekend of violence that was dozens of people shot in separate incidents in one US city, leaving six dead.
Police said that Mychal Moultry Jr., who was staying at his dad's apartment in Chicago on Friday, was hit twice in the head by gunfire that came from outside.
He was rushed to hospital but tragically he died from his injuries on Sunday.
Detectives said they were scouring the area and an investigation was still ongoing while nobody has yet been arrested in connection.
His mum was not said to have been home at the time of the shooting, but his dad and a family friend were there while the boy's hair was braided.
The unnamed family friend was injured by the shattered glass but the dad was unhurt.
Shell casings were reportedly found in front of the three-story apartment building where a front window had been shattered.
The Chicago Tribune reports that on Monday star-shaped blue balloons and a stuffed dinosaur had been left as a makeshift memorial outside the apartment building where Mychal was shot.
Mychal’s mum Angela Gregg said her only child had just started pre-school and was “so excited to go to big boy school.”
Paying tribute she said: “He was so intelligent that they were getting ready to move him to kindergarten.
“They said he was brilliant. ... He was able to read and write. He knew all his numbers. He knew his additions. He was just so advanced.”
She added that the boy “loved everybody and everybody loved him” and said: "He had his whole life. He has a whole army of people that loved him. Everybody that met my son instantly took to him. As soon as you met MJ, you loved him. The short time he was here, he gained the love of everyone he encountered."
The family has gone on to launch a fundraiser through GoFundMe in an effort to 'raise awareness and get justice' for the slain boy.
The killing happened during a deadly weekend that saw dozens of people shot and a number dead.
The Mail Online reports that Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the violence was driven by people who 'have absolutely no regard for the sanctity of human life.'
The mayor and the Chicago Police Department are asking the public for help in investigating the boy's shooting and want anybody with information to come forward.
Community activist Andrew Holmes, his foundation, St. Sabina Parish, and All Kids Matter Foundation are also said to be offering a $9,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the boy's killer.
