A Chicago man was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Monday for the fatal shooting of a 7-year-old girl at a Fourth of July party in 2020.
Kevin Boyd, 33, was convicted earlier this year for the murder of Natalie Wallace in the South Austin neighborhood on the city’s West Side.
The tragic incident occurred while Natalie was attending a Fourth of July gathering on Latrobe Avenue.
Boyd was found guilty of shooting the young girl in the forehead. She was rushed to a local hospital but did not survive.
Natalie Wallace’s death was a heartbreaking moment that drew city-wide attention and became a symbol of the pervasive gun violence impacting Chicago’s youth.
Boyd was one of four men originally charged in the killing. However, the three other co-defendants who went to trial were ultimately found not guilty.
The 60-year sentence was handed down after a trial that kept the community searching for justice.
The conviction brings a measure of closure to Natalie’s family, though her loss remains a permanent tragedy for the South Austin community.
The Night of the Shooting
The tragic incident occurred in the 100-block of North Latrobe Avenue.
Natalie was playing on the sidewalk when, police said, three armed men got out of a white car and fired more than 20 times in the direction of the party, which included many children.
Natalie was killed after being struck by a stray bullet in the forehead. Her father, Nathan Wallace, described the devastating moment: “To see my daughter on the table with a gunshot wound to the forehead… that will change somebody’s life.”
Police believe the motive for the shooting was gang retaliation.
CPD Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan stressed the shooters’ intent, saying, “They personally chose to get into a car. They personally chose to have firearms on them, and they chose to shoot, and their bullets missed and they killed a 7-year-old kid.”
A Community Grieves
The Wallace family shared that Natalie loved drawing and coloring, noting that “something in Chicago has to give.”
Community activists say the violence must be solved from within the community.
Activist Ja’Mal Green emphasized the need for city investment: “We have to put social workers on the street. We have to reopen up the mental health facilities. We have to put money and invest in programs for young people.”
