Girl, 9, who asked if cops could keep her safe dies

MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin girl who was struck by an errant bullet about a week after asking whether police could keep her safe died Monday, according to the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office.

Za'layia Jenkins, 9, was struck by a bullet that pierced a wall of her Milwaukee home as she watched television May 5, according to police.

The girl was shot during an exchange of gunfire between two groups armed with rifles and pistols, after which police recovered more than 40 shell casings, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn said at the time.

Police still are searching for a green Jeep Cherokee whose driver may have information regarding the shooting.

Before Za'layia's death, a rally had been scheduled for Tuesday, which would have been her 10th birthday.

About a week before she was shot, Za'layia asked Capt. Shunta Boston-Smith why she was in her neighborhood.

Boston-Smith replied that she and other officers were walking in the neighborhood to help keep it safe.

Za'layia asked Boston-Smith and another captain whether police could keep her safe.

"Sadly, that question was answered tonight," Flynn said after the girl was shot.

The incident bore a deadly similarity to the fatal shootings of two other children in Milwaukee during the last two years.

On Nov. 6, 2014, 5-year-old Laylah Petersen was shot and killed while sitting on her grandfather's lap inside a home.

And on Dec. 27, 2014, 13-month-old Bill Thao was fatally shot when gunfire from outside ripped through a duplex, where he had been playing with relatives.

Follow The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Twitter: @journalsentinel